Blasphemy and Politics in Romantic Literature : Creativity in the Writing of Percy Bysshe Shelley

"This book argues for the importance of blasphemy in shaping the literature and readership of Percy Bysshe Shelley and of the Romantic period more broadly. Not only are perceptions of blasphemy taken to be inextricable from politics, this book also argues for blasphemous 'irreverence' as both inspiring and necessitating new poetic creativity. The book reveals the intersection of blasphemy, censorship and literary property throughout the 'Long Eighteenth Century', attesting to the effect of this connection on Shelley's poetry more specifically. Paul Whickman notes how Shelley's perceived blasphemy determined the nature and readership of his published works through censorship and literary piracy. Simultaneously, Whickman crucially shows that aesthetics, content and the printed form of the physical text are interconnected and that Shelley's political and philosophical views manifest themselves in his writing both formally and thematically." Acknowledgments 5 Note on Texts and Abbreviations 7 Contents 9 Chapter 1 Introduction 11 1.1 Blasphemy: History and Definition 14 1.2 Percy Bysshe Shelley, Blasphemy and Creativity 17 1.3 Shelley and Romantic Religion 21 Chapter 2 Blasphemy and Copyright in the Long Eighteenth Century, 1695–1823 27 2.1 Licensing of the Press and Religious Tolerance, 1698–1710 29 2.2 Copyright, Censorship and Class: The Statute of Anne and ‘Bad Language’, 1710–1745 35 2.3 Blasphemy, Obscenity or Sedition: John Wilkes to William Hone, 1745–1817 45 2.4 Chancery and the Dissemination of ‘Injurious’ Texts, 1817–1823 53 Chapter 3 Blasphemy and the Shelley Canon: Queen Mab and Laon and Cythna 70 3.1 Queen Mab: Readership, Reputation and ‘Respectability’ in the 1820s 73 3.2 Censoring Queen Mab in the (Il)legitimate Press: William Clark, Richard Carlile, Mary Shelley 81 3.3 From ‘God’ to ‘Power’: Laon and Cythna to the Revolt of Islam 91 3.4 Conclusion: The Contemporary Shelley Canon 100 Chapter 4 Vulgar Anthropomorphisms: Blasphemy, Power and the Philosophy of Language 106 4.1 Anthropomorphising the Abstract: Lockean Scepticism of Language in Queen Mab and Laon and Cythna 108 4.2 The Vitality and Epistemology of Language: ‘Ode to the West Wind’ and ‘Mont Blanc’ 119 Chapter 5 The Promethean Conqueror, the Galilean Serpent and the Jacobin Jesus: Shelley’s Interpretation(s) of Jesus Christ 146 5.1 Secularising and Demystifying Jesus 148 5.2 A Jesus in History: Jesus as Reformer, Jacobin and Blasphemer 158 5.3 Prometheus Unbound: Suffering, Faith and Atonement in the Gospel According to Percy Bysshe Shelley 166 Chapter 6 Conclusion 190 6.1 From Infidel to Canonisation: Shelley’s Posthumous Reputation 194 Works Cited and Further Reading 199 Index 214 Front Matter ....Pages i-x Introduction (Paul Whickman)....Pages 1-16 Blasphemy and Copyright in the Long Eighteenth Century, 1695–1823 (Paul Whickman)....Pages 17-59 Blasphemy and the Shelley Canon: Queen Mab and Laon and Cythna (Paul Whickman)....Pages 61-96 Vulgar Anthropomorphisms: Blasphemy, Power and the Philosophy of Language (Paul Whickman)....Pages 97-136 The Promethean Conqueror, the Galilean Serpent and the Jacobin Jesus: Shelley’s Interpretation(s) of Jesus Christ (Paul Whickman)....Pages 137-180 Conclusion (Paul Whickman)....Pages 181-189 Back Matter ....Pages 191-212