Shelly's Star: Genesis of a Symbol
Graduation Date
Summer 1970
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Document Form
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program Name
Humanities
Abstract
When considered in light of its multiple associations, Shelley's star symbolizes the Platonic One and Sehnsucht: the yearning for an ideal state of being; it represents the dream of perfection and is closely related to immortality, spiritual existence, eternal truth, moral virtues, the creative imagination, and the Romantic pursuit of the infinite. In order to reveal the ultimate meaning of the star symbol, I will explore its development in selected undramatic poems where it grows from a poetic device into an inclusive symbol, and I will attempt to demonstrate the poet's use of the symbol in all its intensity and richness of association. For this reason I have organized this dissertation into five chapters focusing on certain chronological and ideological stages in the development of the star symbol. Chapter two treats the star as a poetic device and includes various images which Shelley closely identifies with it; the chapter also concentrates on the star as a symbol of the moral reformer and the seeker of Platonic reality. Then, too, I have included relevant biographical material in a discussion of the symbol's early development. Chapter three centers on the transition of the star from a symbol of the social crusader into a symbol of transcendent reality, which involves Platonic, Orphic, and Hindu philosophies, and which reveals Shelley's dissatisfaction with the natural world and his desire to experience perfect being beyond the grave. In chapter four the star of Shelley's later poems "Epipsychidion" and "Adonais" is presented in all its richness of association; here the star's involvement with the poet's total rejection of the things of this world is emphasized. This is followed by a discussion in chapter five of "A Defense of Poetry" since in it Shelley clarifies the relationship of the star symbol with poetry. I conclude with a synthesis of the development of the star symbol and with a restatement of its meaning and a re-emphasis on its growth through association.