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Jamison Midkiff

Jay Twomey

ENGL 3125-001

October 25, 2020

Ethics and Literary Criticism

The “Ethics and Literary Criticism” section in the Alternative Table of Contents on page

XXVI of the Norton Anthology contains writers such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Percy Bysshe

Shelley. These writer’s works focus on the moral and ethical value of society and writing.

Bysshe was one of the more prominent writers who heavily disagreed with Plato’s view

of poetry, he thought that the feelings of the writer should come through and influence the

reader. Plato, however, thought that every piece of poetry should be based off the “Truth” and

not based around feelings, “Measuring, counting, and weighing all bring us closer to the realm of

Forms than do poetry’s pale representations of nature”(43). Wollstonecraft is known most

famously for “A Vindication of the Rights of Women”, which argues for the rights and equality

of the sexes, specifically women. Women were seen as inferior to men and useless in society,

which is what she makes clear in this essay, “A Vindication of the Rights of Women, inserts an

analysis of the relations between the sexes into a wholesale revolutionary attack on hereditary

privilege of all sorts such as birth, wealth, rank and gender” (493).

Based on Mary Wollstonecraft’s writings, she represents the “Feminism” section in the

“Introduction” of the Norton Anthology (24). Wollstonecraft was an early feminist who wanted

to change the view of women in society and fight for equal rights through her writing.
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“Wollstonecraft skillfully demystifies all arguments designed to justify inequality on the basis of

existing arguments, customs, or feelings alone” (493). She felt that the thought of woman being

created for man was absolutely absurd and was set on making it clear to the world that women

were more than capable of doing the same things men could do and for that reason, they should

be treated with equality and respect. This thought lines up perfectly with the “Feminism” section

because it states, “Feminist criticism is part of the broader feminist political movement that seeks

to rectify sexist and discrimination and inequality” (24). This section describes how feminist

criticism exposes masculine stereotypes and the distortion of women.

Feminist criticism wants to revolutionize the way that women are described in literature

by stressing the importance of gender and sexuality as well as advocation for women’s rights

which is exactly what Wollstonecraft did in her essays. For example, in “A Vindication of the

Rights of Women”, she describes how men from her era had thought about women, “The subject

of female education and manners from Rousseau to Dr. Gregory, have contributed to render

women more artificial, weak characters, than they would otherwise have been; and consequently,

more useless members of society” (499). Her essays are used as a political and social movement

to move past the ridiculous views of women which is one of the main points among the feminist

critics (26). She wanted women to be respected and equal and she made that quite clear in her

writing.

Percy Bysshe Shelley’s, “A Defense of Poetry” (591), describes how poetry should be an

emotional and thoughtful experience. In his writing he states “Poetry awakens and enlarges the

mind itself by rendering it the receptable of a thousand unapprehended combinations of thought”

(596), which to me means that he wants all of the writers creativity and imagination to be shown

through their work. He argues that the great secret of morals is love and to show that, humans
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must unapologetically themselves and that the great instrument of morals is imagination which

poetry administers to the effect by acting upon the cause (596). He thinks that the drama created

through poetry is a multi-sided mirror and reflects the drama of human nature (599). Shelley

argues that poetry can give a writer power and the ability to persuade a reader, he thought that

poets were hierophants of unapprehended inspiration.

Based on the “Romantic Theory and Criticism” section, Shelley saw his art as “intimately

bound to their personal impressions, moods and feelings” (12). The readers are meant to

sympathize with the author through their work, the point of this type of criticism is to draw

attention to the imagination and synthesize the senses of perception to create a more organic

poem (12). This criticism was meant to be a manifested symbol of aesthetic pleasure and beauty

as well as moral truth, which is what his writing reflects, all poems were about the way

something was viewed and in the most pleasing way. Romantic Theory and Criticism

emphasized the historical development of society, it was meant to change social, political and

economic conditions. Shelley wanted society to be viewed with emotion and imagination, he did

not want there to be just an obvious point and truth to something, he thought that poetry should

make you feel something in your soul. The point of this criticism is to make readers think and

ponder the cultural history and to perhaps make a change.

Mary Wollstonecraft and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s writings have shaped the way that

society is viewed today. The similarities between the two writers show how writing can

influence moral values in society and change how people view certain aspects of the world. I

think that their inputs on social and moral values can continue to help us grow into a better

society. Their ideas function as a roadmap to better literature, better media post and a better

world all around.