According to Shelley, can an individual simply decide to write great poetry through conscious willpower and effort?
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Correct answer: No; the mind in creation is a fading coal awakened to brightness by an invisible influence
Shelley firmly rejects the idea that poetry can be produced by conscious willpower or mechanical effort alone. He writes that 'the mind in creation is as a fading coal, which some invisible influence, like an inconstant wind, awakens to a transitory brightness.' This concept highlights the involuntary, unpredictable nature of genuine Romantic inspiration.
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More A Defence of Poetry questions
- What distinction does Shelley make between a 'story' (like a historical account) and a 'poem'?
- How does Shelley view the moralizing approach in poetry, such as when a poet intentionally crafts a poem to teach a specific ethical lesson?
- In 'A Defence of Poetry', what does Shelley say about the translation of true poetry into another language?
- How does Shelley view the historical progression of poetry throughout different eras of human civilization?
- What role does Shelley assign to the 'spirit of the age' regarding the creation of contemporary Romantic poetry?
- According to Shelley, what does poetry do to our perception of everyday, familiar things?