Shelley: A Critical Reading

by Earl R. Wasserman (Editor), Betty T. Bennett (Editor), Professor Stuart Curran (Editor)

In Poet and Legislator of the World Betty T. Bennett and Stuart Curran bring together an internationally recognized group of scholars to focus on Percy Bysshe Shelley's conception of the poet's social role and how that conception has changed over time. The authors consider the cultural and political forces within Shelley's society and his attempts to establish a new role for the poet in its renovation. They examine the ways in which Shelley's thought engages contemporary debates on feminism, class structure, political representation, and human rights, and how it in turn affects radical politics in England. They describe his impact on other cultures, particularly in national liberation movements of both the 19th and 20th centuries. And they discuss the continuing presence and relevance of his ideas within the contemporary social and intellectual arena. Donald H. Reiman, Greg Kucich, Terence Hoagwood, William Keach, Mark Kipperman, Michael Erkelenz, Gary Kelly, Annnette Wheeler Cafarelli, Neil Fraistat, Michael Scrivener, Bouthaina Shaaban, E. Douka Kabitoglou, Lilla Maria Crisafulli Jones, Marilyn Butler, Meena Alexander, Alan Weinberg, Steven E. Jones, Horst Höhne, Andrew J. Bennett, Karen A. Weisman, P.M.S. Dawson, Tilottama Rajan, Linda Brigham, Arkady Plotnitsky.

Genres: Poetry, Literary Criticism

512 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1971

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

The absolute starting point for any reader who wishes to delve into the critical literature on Shelly. Wonderfully thorought, and uniformly interesting, it was the culmination of a career of reading and thinking about Shelley as well as the appropriate critical methods to apply to his reading of the poet's work.