Shelly As A Lyrical Poet
Shelly As A Lyrical Poet
The study of the odes and the other poems of Shelley clearly show him as
a distinguished lyric poet. Cazamian once said that Shelly’s lyricism is
supreme and incomparable. Hudson wrote, “As a lyric poet Shelly ranks with
our greatest, and no praise would be excessive ecstasy of feelings, the lightness
and grace, the felicity of phrace and the verbal magic of such poets.”
The lyric poetry of the great poet includes a wide range and a lot of
variety. His lyrical poems are both personal as well as objective. His field is
twofold with themes of either “love” or “nature”.
As a true poet he writes with his heart felt feelings. His poems posses
the traits of wonderful case and felicity. His poetry clearly shows the fragrance
of his heart-felt feelings. The readers of his poetry also hear spontaneous
music. His emotions which flow from his heart take the form of his lyric
poetry. His words merge into one another and his ideas join up together. Many
critics call him the poet of poets. The natural quality of his lyric poetry is his
musical trait. As the readers read his poetry they taste his sweet music.
A.C.Bradley says that the music of his poetry may be compared with a piper
playing on his flute. He also compared the musical note of the poet with the
watery waves and the blowing of winds. A great critic compared his musical
quality with divine expression. He added by calling him the perfect singing
god.
His poems clearly show the poet’s quality of ecstasy. Some of his poems
show his emotional feelings of joy. His feelings of joy are not unmixed with his
greater feelings of melancholy which is his dominating feature. Another
quality of Shelly’s lyrics is the note of intensity.For example Ode to the west
wind shows the mixture of his lyricism with his intensity.
The Note of Melancholy:
Shelly’s poems show the note of sorrow, sadness and melancholy in rich
measure. When he writes about himself he becomes thoughtful on serious. The
result is the expression of melancholy. Many of his autobiographical lyrics give
expression to this feature.
His Style:
The style which the poet uses is directly and perfectly in tune with his
purpose with which he writes his poetry. Defining his lyrical style it may be
termed simple, touching and passionate. Principal Shairp writes about his
style, “Other lyric poets sing what they feel. Shelly in his lyrics sings of what
he wants to feel.” Such is the charm and impassioned eloquence of his music.
As many readers read his lyrical and touching poetry they call his style
quite simple, touching, flexible and passionate. The simplicity, clarity and
purity of language make his style quite touching and impressive. The people
remember him for his commanding simplicity and the power of description.
His images are living and appealing. The power of his imagination makes his
poetry a wonderful piece of art.
Conclusion:
Several critics have compared Shelley as a lyric poet with John Milton,
William Wordsworth and John Keats but they have regarded him matchless
and superior to all. “Shelly’s genius was essentially lyrical. All his poetry is
really lyrical, for his lyrical impulse penetrates into even his unlyrical verse.”
It is also said about Shelly that none of his contemporaries could stand equal
to him. Its obvious reason was that he possessed lyrical quality in the supreme
and maximum measure in comparison to all other great poets writing poetry
in the field of English Literature.