Earl R. Wasserman Shelley: A Critical Reading

Annotation

In Shelley: 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.