In 'A Defence of Poetry', what does Shelley claim is the secret of moral goodness?
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Correct answer: Love—going out of our nature to identify with the beautiful in thought, action, or person
Shelley argues that the secret of morals is love, which requires a person to look outside themselves and empathize with others. To be truly good, an individual must possess an intense and comprehensive imagination to put themselves in another person's place. Therefore, he concludes that poetry is inherently moral because it strengthens the faculty of imagination, which is the organ of morality.
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More A Defence of Poetry questions
- According to Shelley, can an individual simply decide to write great poetry through conscious willpower and effort?
- 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?