P. B. Shelley: A Defense of Poetry, and Other Essays

Shelley took his place within the vatic history of mythopoetic bards and bore the Visionary legacy. He offered a simple "spark" of poetry to his audience while promising a raging fire would burn if the poetry was nurtured correctly. However, Shelley realized that most people cannot accept the poet's offering (for various reasons; ignoring, rejecting or misunderstanding) and they let that spark smolder into nothing. Shelley shouts into his written words, leaving his hard-earned knowledge of the human condition and his visionary plight for willing human ears. Shelley paints himself as the Visionary, sound and steady within a wisdom that understands the suffering beauty of the human condition, who sits as a "tranquil star" to burn as heavenly light. Shelley's hope is to guide humanity through the dark night of doubt and fear towards the possibility laying dormant within being human.This volume contains the following essays: A Defence of PoetryOn LoveOn LifeOn A Future StateOn the Punishment of Death, A FragmentSpeculations on MetaphysicsSpeculations on MoralsEssay on the Literature, The Arts, and the Manners of the Athenians, A FragmentOn the Symposium, Or Preface to the Banquet of Plato, A FragmentEven Love is Sold, An Essay on ProstitutionThe Necessity of Atheism, A Note on Queen Mab