as seen in choriamb

[novapsyche]

A Defence of Poetry, by Percy Bysshe Shelley (this is a philosophical statement and, as such, is dense)

Comments

[bonerici.livejournal.com]

i think what shelley said in that paper is that Plato was right first of all. There is a perfect world of heavenly forms, exactly like Plato said. Poets are able to render heaven down to earth, and it is due to poets that we have civilization and laws. It is poetry that controls reason, because reason merely a tool. Poetry is the single and only way to use reason. Hmmm also poetry civilizes mankind because it enlarges the spirit.

I think this defense would be better if shelley didn't try to reach so far. He puts poetry on this pedestal, where poetry created civilization, laws and is the leading factor in moral growth of humanity, that's a bit much.

shelley also wrote this paper about atheism, and surprisingly perhaps, I think his atheism matches up very well with his belief in platonism, shelley did not believe in a god, a master spirit, he believed instead in this heavenly sphere of perfect ideas, which really doesn't require some landlord to rule over it, heaven could exist without god running the show.