In his “Defence of Poetry,” Shelley claims, “Poets… were called in the earlier epochs of the world legislators or prophets.” As such, even a cursory glance at Shelley’s poetry and political beliefs reveals an interest in what is wrong with the world, how to fix it, and what will happen if no action is taken. However, current studies fail to fully assess what makes up the prophetic imagination. They confine discussions of Romantic prophecy to discussions of prophetic inspiration, futurity, and rhetoric – divorcing the work from its impetus for social change. The prophetic imagination, as utilized by Shelley, is instead connected to an ancient Old Testament tradition of radical challenge to authority that possesses a distinctly social function. This study examines Shelley’s poetry and prose as intentionally prophetic texts that critique the dominant consciousness of his (and future) times and energize a community of resistance to the status quo.
","abstract_html":"<p>In his “Defence of Poetry,” Shelley claims, “Poets… were called in the earlier epochs of the world legislators or prophets.” As such, even a cursory glance at Shelley’s poetry and political beliefs reveals an interest in what is wrong with the world, how to fix it, and what will happen if no action is taken. However, current studies fail to fully assess what makes up the prophetic imagination. They confine discussions of Romantic prophecy to discussions of prophetic inspiration, futurity, and rhetoric – divorcing the work from its impetus for social change. The prophetic imagination, as utilized by Shelley, is instead connected to an ancient Old Testament tradition of radical challenge to authority that possesses a distinctly social function. This study examines Shelley’s poetry and prose as intentionally prophetic texts that critique the dominant consciousness of his (and future) times and energize a community of resistance to the status quo.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Winckles, Andrew O"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"English Language and Literature","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Laura George, PhD, Chair","Elisabeth Däumer, PhD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2009,"date_issued":"2009-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2009-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:36Z","subjects":["Shelley","Percy Bysshe","1792-1822 Criticism and interpretation","1792-1822 Religion","1792-1822 Ethics","1792-1822 Political and social views","English Language and Literature"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/248","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Laura George, PhD, Chair","Elisabeth Däumer, PhD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Winckles, Andrew O"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English Language and Literature"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Shelley","Percy Bysshe","1792-1822 Criticism and interpretation","1792-1822 Religion","1792-1822 Ethics","1792-1822 Political and social views","English Language and Literature"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/248"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In his “Defence of Poetry,” Shelley claims, “Poets… were called in the earlier epochs of the world legislators or prophets.” As such, even a cursory glance at Shelley’s poetry and political beliefs reveals an interest in what is wrong with the world, how to fix it, and what will happen if no action is taken. However, current studies fail to fully assess what makes up the prophetic imagination. They confine discussions of Romantic prophecy to discussions of prophetic inspiration, futurity, and rhetoric – divorcing the work from its impetus for social change. The prophetic imagination, as utilized by Shelley, is instead connected to an ancient Old Testament tradition of radical challenge to authority that possesses a distinctly social function. This study examines Shelley’s poetry and prose as intentionally prophetic texts that critique the dominant consciousness of his (and future) times and energize a community of resistance to the status quo.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The prophetic imagination of P. B. Shelley"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Laura George, PhD, Chair","Elisabeth Däumer, PhD"],"dc:creator":["Winckles, Andrew O"],"dc:description.abstract":["In his “Defence of Poetry,” Shelley claims, “Poets… were called in the earlier epochs of the world legislators or prophets.” As such, even a cursory glance at Shelley’s poetry and political beliefs reveals an interest in what is wrong with the world, how to fix it, and what will happen if no action is taken. However, current studies fail to fully assess what makes up the prophetic imagination. They confine discussions of Romantic prophecy to discussions of prophetic inspiration, futurity, and rhetoric – divorcing the work from its impetus for social change. The prophetic imagination, as utilized by Shelley, is instead connected to an ancient Old Testament tradition of radical challenge to authority that possesses a distinctly social function. This study examines Shelley’s poetry and prose as intentionally prophetic texts that critique the dominant consciousness of his (and future) times and energize a community of resistance to the status quo.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/248"],"dc:subject":["Shelley","Percy Bysshe","1792-1822 Criticism and interpretation","1792-1822 Religion","1792-1822 Ethics","1792-1822 Political and social views","English Language and Literature"],"dc:title":["The prophetic imagination of P. B. Shelley"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English Language and Literature"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:36Z"}