Shelley among Others - The Play of the Intertext and the Idea of Language

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Eden

Comprehensive scholarly study of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poetry, integrating intertextual and linguistic conceptions through Shelley’s own practices. The book frames Shelley’s work as an intertextual conversation with key figures in the Western literary tradition, shaping both his literary moment and its voice. It draws on contemporary theories of language and situates changes in discussion of Shelley’s ideas over the last thirty-five years, engaging major prior scholarship and offering a structured literary history.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages423

Reading Time10 h 51 min

AccessFree to download

Preface and Acknowledgments

Introduction: Literary History, Cultural Politics, and “The Nature Itself of Language”

Figures That Look Before and After

Nothing Beside Remains

“Mont Blanc,” the Recuperation of Voice, the Way of “Power,” and the Fate of Love

Toward a Vision of the Nineteenth Century

The Poet Situated—between the Failed Past and a Hopeful Future

A Perpetual Orphic Song; or, The Name of the Father?

Moving toward the Shade of Shelley

Notes

Bibliography

Index

ShelleyOamong Others This page intentionally left blank Shelley Oamong Others The Play of the Intertext and the Idea of Language Stuart Peterfreund The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore and London This book has been brought to publication with the generous assistance of the Office of the Provost and the Office of the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Northeastern University. © 2002 The Johns Hopkins University Press All rights reserved. Published 2002 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 The Johns Hopkins University Press 2715 North Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363 [www.press.jhu.edu](www.press.jhu.edu) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Peterfreund, Stuart. Shelley among others : the play of the intertext and the idea of language / Stuart Peterfreund. [p. cm](p. cm). Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8018-6751-7 (acid-free paper) 1. Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 1792ñ1822óCriticism and interpretation. 2. Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 1792ñ1822óKnowledgeóLanguage and languages. 3. Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 1792ñ1822óPolitical and social views. 4. Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 1792ñ1822óKnowledgeóLiterature. 5. Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 1792ñ1822óContemporaries. 6. Intertextuality. I. Title. PR5438 P47 2002 821'.7ódc21 2001000244 A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. To SarahORuth Peterfreund This page intentionally left blank OContents Preface and Acknowledgments ix List of Abbreviations xiii Introduction: Literary History, Cultural Politics, and ìThe Nature Itself of Languageî 1 1: Figures That Look Before and After 25 2: Nothing Beside Remains 49 3: ìMont Blanc,î the Recuperation of Voice, the Way of ìPower,î and the Fate of Love 100 4: Toward a Vision of the Nineteenth Century 135 5: The Poet Situatedóbetween the Failed Past and a Hopeful Future 168 6: A Perpetual Orphic Song; or, The Name of the Father? 218 7: Moving toward the Shade of Shelley 267 Notes 319 Bibliography 381 Index 395 This page intentionally left blank Preface aOnd Acknowledgments My attempt in writing this book has been to produce a comprehensive study of Shelleyís poetry, including most of the major poems and many of the socalled minor poems as well. It is a study that discusses and, by so doing, integrates the intertextual and linguistic conceptions and practices that Shelley himself deployed in seeking and claiming for himself a place in the Western literary tradition. My conception of the integration process that brings together those intertextual and linguistic conceptions and practices has been informed significantly by the work of a number of philosophers and theorists of language. Both Shelleyís idea of language and his sense of intertextuality have interesting affinities with contemporary thought and theory. As my title suggests in part, I believe that an understanding of Shelleyísintertextual conversation with those he identifies as his important conversation partners and formative figures in the Western literary tradition, especially as that tradition provides him with the materials to fashion both his own literary moment and the voice of that moment, is central to forming an understanding of Shelleyís poetry. That this conversation has been remarked and discussed in some detail over time is evident from even a casual perusal of the other poets and writers cited by both Shelley himself and his commentators in the notes to the Reiman and Powers edition of his poetry and prose. Shelleyís idea of language has been the object of increased attention during the last thirty-five years, especially in books such as Earl J. Schulzeís Shelleyís Theory of Poetry: AReappraisal (1966); John Wrightís ShelleyísMyth ofMetaphor (1970); William Keachís Shelleyís Style (1984); and Jerrold E. Hogleís Shelleyís Process (1988) . I join in the conversation in Shelley among Others,

FAQs

What is the central aim of the book?

To produce a comprehensive study of Shelley’s poetry that integrates intertextual and linguistic conceptions and practices.

How does the book connect Shelley’s poetry to intertextual conversation?

It argues that understanding Shelley’s intertextual engagement with formative Western literary figures is central to forming an understanding of his poetry.

What relationship does the book draw between Shelley’s idea of language and broader theory?

It states that Shelley’s idea of language and his sense of intertextuality have affinities with contemporary thought and theories of language.

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Eden