Percy Shelley: "Hymn to Intellectual Beauty" and "Indian Serenade" Comparison
Despite contrasting themes in the poems, “A Hymn to Intellectual beauty” and “An Indian Serenade”, it is evident that Shelley had a close link with nature through his extensive imagery and description of the natural beauty that exists through his poems. In “A Hymn to Intellectual Beauty”, nature is the fundamental basis of the poem and is the aspect that the poem is centralised on it. On the other hand, “An Indian Serenade” explores the supernatural power of love and the peaceful relationships that humans can have with nature.
In both poems, Shelley uses provocative imagery to describe the beauty of the surrounding nature. From the opening stanza of “An Indian Serenade”, Percy Shelley immediately incorporates strong imagery of the night to create a peaceful and serene atmosphere through the line “In the first sweet sleep of night, when the winds are breathing low, and the stars are shining bright”. The imagery is further enhanced through Shelley’s use of sibilance in the phrase ‘sweet sleep’ which emphasises the peace and enjoyment the speaker is feeling, along with the harmonious relationship shared between the speaker and the natural surroundings. The personification of the winds as “breathing low’ gives the surrounding nature more power and significance as they are given not just any human characteristic, but a vital action that determines whether we are alive or dead. The use of these techniques creates strong imagery of the night rich with beauty, but also makes it seem alive and powerful with a peaceful atmosphere, indicating Shelley’s success at harmoniously incorporating contrasting atmospheres.
Similarly, in the opening stanza of “A Hymn to Intellectual Beauty”,Shelley, through the use of rich, descriptive language provokes strong imagery to portray the beauty of nature. “The awful shadow of some unseen Power Floats through unseen among us, visiting this various world with as inconstant wing as summer winds that creep from flower to flower, like moonbeams that behind some piny mountain shower, it visits with inconstant glance”. “A hymn to Intellectual Beauty”, however has a contrastingly uncertain atmosphere with the “awful shadow of some unseen power”clearly being the main subject of the poem and being described through the lines “floats through unseen’ and ‘visits with inconstant glance’. This conveys the idea the ‘unseen power’ will arrive and disappear without warning and therefore creates a sense that we must always be prepared for both its arrival and departure. Personification of the “unseen power” through the description as‘floating’ and ‘visiting’ makes it all more powerful and gives is more significance. With the ‘unseen power’ being compared with the ‘summer winds that creep from flower to flower’ and ‘moonbeams that hide behind some piny mountain shower’ it becomes enigmatic and creates ambiguity due to the many different forms of the "unseen power" , which further reinforces the uncertain and almost tense atmosphere. Despite the uncertain atmosphere that Shelley has created, similarly to "An Indian Serenade", the beauty of nature is highlighted through the rich descriptions of the summer winds and moonbeams.
Both poems also have drastic atmosphere changes, particularly “A Hymn to Intellectual Beauty”, which changes back and forth from light to dark atmospheres. “An Indian Serenade” however, starts off peacefully and harmoniously but ends with a tense and dark atmosphere. The change in atmosphere that Shelley manages to incorporate successfully demands the reader to properly and thoroughly absorb, understand and engage with the poem. In “An Indian Serenade”, the change is not at all made suddenly, but rather gradually, with the second stanza opening with a change in tone. “The wandering airs they faint On the dark, the silent stream” The personification of nature as ‘fainting’ introduces a negative change of tone which contrasts the harmony and peaceful tone of the first stanza, thus the poem becomes more ominous. Sibilance in “silent stream” puts emphasis on the words and contributes further to the sinister atmosphere. This sinister atmosphere is further conveyed in the next line “The champak odors fail Like sweet thoughts in a dream;” In this line, simile of the champak odors and sweet dreams are used to further represent the foreboding atmosphere. The champak odors, fail, just as the sweet thoughts fail, and make us question what kind of thoughts they could have been replaced with, creating ambiguity and creating an uncertain atmosphere. Then, in the third stanza the atmosphere becomes increasingly ominous as seen through the line; ‘Oh lift me from the grass! I die! I faint! I fail!’ This line introduces themes of supernatural forces of love ‘lifting her’ causing us to reflect on whether love can be dangerous, and reinforcing the sinister atmosphere. The sentences are also short and abrupt, ending with exclamation marks which emphasize the phrases and the speaker’s emotional state.
Contrastingly, in a “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty” the changes in atmosphere are often and sudden, for example; “Why dost thou pass away and leave our state, this dim vast vale of tears, vacant and desolate” and‘Such gloom,-why man has such a scope for love and hate, despondency and hope?” In these lines, Shelley instantly changes the atmosphere to dark and mourning, as the “unseen power” has passed away. The alliteration of vast, vale and vacant emphasises the words and highlights the desolate atmosphere that has now taken place. The question used in the second phrase forces the reader to reflect, thus further engaging them and making the poem more personal. Another line which conveys the changes in tones is “Love, Hope, and Self-esteem, like clouds depart and come, for some uncertain moments lent.” This line personifies the emotions, describing them in a more welcoming and pleasant manner, however Shelley reminds us that they are fleeting, and like the “unseen Power” comes and goes. The personification of the emotions gives them more significance and forces us to reflect on how emotions play such a major role in our lives, attitudes and views. Simile is also used, through the emotions being compared to clouds, enhancing imagery of their fleeting and never guaranteed presence.
Despite the fact that the poems have different themes and ideas, both “An Indian Serenade” and “A hymn to Intellectual Beauty” convey Shelley’s deep infatuation with beauty, particularly of nature. “The hymn to Intellectual Beauty” is concentrated mostly on the Beauty of Nature, whereas “An Indian Serenade” is more closely linked to the Power of Love. It is evident that through the use of various techniques in both poems Shelley successfully conveys his ideas and themes while ensuring that both poems engage the reader and allow them to further grasp the true meaning and purpose of the poem.
In both poems, Shelley uses provocative imagery to describe the beauty of the surrounding nature. From the opening stanza of “An Indian Serenade”, Percy Shelley immediately incorporates strong imagery of the night to create a peaceful and serene atmosphere through the line “In the first sweet sleep of night, when the winds are breathing low, and the stars are shining bright”. The imagery is further enhanced through Shelley’s use of sibilance in the phrase ‘sweet sleep’ which emphasises the peace and enjoyment the speaker is feeling, along with the harmonious relationship shared between the speaker and the natural surroundings. The personification of the winds as “breathing low’ gives the surrounding nature more power and significance as they are given not just any human characteristic, but a vital action that determines whether we are alive or dead. The use of these techniques creates strong imagery of the night rich with beauty, but also makes it seem alive and powerful with a peaceful atmosphere, indicating Shelley’s success at harmoniously incorporating contrasting atmospheres.
Similarly, in the opening stanza of “A Hymn to Intellectual Beauty”,Shelley, through the use of rich, descriptive language provokes strong imagery to portray the beauty of nature. “The awful shadow of some unseen Power Floats through unseen among us, visiting this various world with as inconstant wing as summer winds that creep from flower to flower, like moonbeams that behind some piny mountain shower, it visits with inconstant glance”. “A hymn to Intellectual Beauty”, however has a contrastingly uncertain atmosphere with the “awful shadow of some unseen power”clearly being the main subject of the poem and being described through the lines “floats through unseen’ and ‘visits with inconstant glance’. This conveys the idea the ‘unseen power’ will arrive and disappear without warning and therefore creates a sense that we must always be prepared for both its arrival and departure. Personification of the “unseen power” through the description as‘floating’ and ‘visiting’ makes it all more powerful and gives is more significance. With the ‘unseen power’ being compared with the ‘summer winds that creep from flower to flower’ and ‘moonbeams that hide behind some piny mountain shower’ it becomes enigmatic and creates ambiguity due to the many different forms of the "unseen power" , which further reinforces the uncertain and almost tense atmosphere. Despite the uncertain atmosphere that Shelley has created, similarly to "An Indian Serenade", the beauty of nature is highlighted through the rich descriptions of the summer winds and moonbeams.
Both poems also have drastic atmosphere changes, particularly “A Hymn to Intellectual Beauty”, which changes back and forth from light to dark atmospheres. “An Indian Serenade” however, starts off peacefully and harmoniously but ends with a tense and dark atmosphere. The change in atmosphere that Shelley manages to incorporate successfully demands the reader to properly and thoroughly absorb, understand and engage with the poem. In “An Indian Serenade”, the change is not at all made suddenly, but rather gradually, with the second stanza opening with a change in tone. “The wandering airs they faint On the dark, the silent stream” The personification of nature as ‘fainting’ introduces a negative change of tone which contrasts the harmony and peaceful tone of the first stanza, thus the poem becomes more ominous. Sibilance in “silent stream” puts emphasis on the words and contributes further to the sinister atmosphere. This sinister atmosphere is further conveyed in the next line “The champak odors fail Like sweet thoughts in a dream;” In this line, simile of the champak odors and sweet dreams are used to further represent the foreboding atmosphere. The champak odors, fail, just as the sweet thoughts fail, and make us question what kind of thoughts they could have been replaced with, creating ambiguity and creating an uncertain atmosphere. Then, in the third stanza the atmosphere becomes increasingly ominous as seen through the line; ‘Oh lift me from the grass! I die! I faint! I fail!’ This line introduces themes of supernatural forces of love ‘lifting her’ causing us to reflect on whether love can be dangerous, and reinforcing the sinister atmosphere. The sentences are also short and abrupt, ending with exclamation marks which emphasize the phrases and the speaker’s emotional state.
Contrastingly, in a “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty” the changes in atmosphere are often and sudden, for example; “Why dost thou pass away and leave our state, this dim vast vale of tears, vacant and desolate” and‘Such gloom,-why man has such a scope for love and hate, despondency and hope?” In these lines, Shelley instantly changes the atmosphere to dark and mourning, as the “unseen power” has passed away. The alliteration of vast, vale and vacant emphasises the words and highlights the desolate atmosphere that has now taken place. The question used in the second phrase forces the reader to reflect, thus further engaging them and making the poem more personal. Another line which conveys the changes in tones is “Love, Hope, and Self-esteem, like clouds depart and come, for some uncertain moments lent.” This line personifies the emotions, describing them in a more welcoming and pleasant manner, however Shelley reminds us that they are fleeting, and like the “unseen Power” comes and goes. The personification of the emotions gives them more significance and forces us to reflect on how emotions play such a major role in our lives, attitudes and views. Simile is also used, through the emotions being compared to clouds, enhancing imagery of their fleeting and never guaranteed presence.
Despite the fact that the poems have different themes and ideas, both “An Indian Serenade” and “A hymn to Intellectual Beauty” convey Shelley’s deep infatuation with beauty, particularly of nature. “The hymn to Intellectual Beauty” is concentrated mostly on the Beauty of Nature, whereas “An Indian Serenade” is more closely linked to the Power of Love. It is evident that through the use of various techniques in both poems Shelley successfully conveys his ideas and themes while ensuring that both poems engage the reader and allow them to further grasp the true meaning and purpose of the poem.