Percy ShelleyS Hymn To Intellectual Beauty Essay

, Research Paper

In Percy Shelley?s poem ?Hymn to Intellectual Beauty?, he writes about many abstract powers. Through his usage of similes, the reader is able to get a sense of what his relationships are with abstract thoughts, in particular Power and Beauty. We are especially able to get this feel by looking at Shelley?s infusion of mortal phenomena with these abstracts.

The first abstract, Power, comes to us in Part I of this poem. Power, is mysteriously introduced. It ?floats through unseen among us.? Shelley compares Power to many natural wonders, including summer winds, moonbeams, and clouds. These are all changeable and none of these parts of nature are stable. He also compares Power to ?memory of music fled.? One?s memory is also unstable. Many times we remember things that may have been quite different than what truly happened. In other words, our memories have the ability to become distorted.

The second abstract, Beauty, is brought to our attention in Part II. Beauty is something that Shelley admires and honors, but it seems to be missing. He asks,?where art thou gone?? This abstract , like Power, is unstable. Be comparing Beauty to ?mist o?er mountains driven? and ?Music by the night-wind sent? we are able to see this view of Beauty?s changeability.

Shelley seems to see both Power and Beauty as honorable and attractive, but also fleeting and much different from each other. Power seems to be a very mystical and it has taken over Beauty?s reign. Beauty is no where to be found by Shelley, but it is what he craves more than Power itself.