"Mont Blanc": Finding Faith in Shelleyan Skepticism
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2015
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Haverford College. Department of English
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Thesis
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eng
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Open Access
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Abstract
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) is commonly considered the most radical of the Romantic poets. Accordingly, his works have been fiercely criticized as well as celebrated. In 1811, Shelley even received contemporaneous criticism for boldly challenging institutionalized religion in his pamphlet, “The Necessity of Atheism.” Despite the title, Shelley’s pamphlet was not actually a radical rejection of faith. Instead, Shelley’s atheism derived from his profound philosophical skepticism: recognizing the boundaries of human knowledge, he agnostically proved that God is unknowable. Five years later, in 1816, Shelley moved beyond religious discourse altogether in his poem, “Mont Blanc: Lines Written in the Vale of Chamouni.” Thus, many critics consider “Mont Blanc” to be a shift from his early skepticism to mature belief; however, I discover the poem as a statement of mature skepticism, instead. In 1816, Shelley is searching for a generative solution to his early destructive doubt; therefore, “Mont Blanc” unusually emanates faith while still maintaining atheism. He uncovers, what I call, “skeptical modes of belief.” Importantly, the poem does not employ Wordsworthian “natural piety” to find this faith; in fact, Shelley rejects the “spilt religion” of traditional Romanticism. Instead, Shelley attempts to capture only the brute physicality of the natural scene, the noumenon or thing-in-itself. Inevitably, his materialism fails and over the course of 144 lines, he discovers a metaphysical Power that is inseparable from the physical mountain. Furthermore, he profoundly discovers his own responsibility in unveiling this Power. Thus, through his continued skepticism of religion in "Mont Blanc," Shelley ultimately finds faith in the power of his own poetic imagination.