The Big Questions...

Reading Percy Shelley and John Keats this week reminded me of the big questions that literary giants often tackle. The sheer immensity of these issues are so large and so largely personal, that authors can write on them for years and years to come. Because they are universal, readers always find and interest in these subjects, and as long a reader puts enough of themselves into the writing, it will be a joy to work through, if not a daunting task.

The two questions in question (ha!) are those of knowledge and immortality. Shelley tackles knowledge in "Hymn to Intellectual Beauty," which isn't so much about aesthetic beauty at all, or about the attractiveness of personality or intellect, but about knowledge itself. Shelley says that knowledge is beautiful, and that it takes on an otherworldly quality. At the same time, he recognizes that knowledge is gained through humanity, through our lives and out experiences. Everything about us has to do with our knowledge, and as we change and grow, our knowledge does as well. Though he views knowledge as something divine, he doesn't think it is bestowed from a higher power. It is the way in which human beings reach divinity, through their ability to gain and develop knowledge and wisdom.

Keats takes on another great question of literary giants, and especially poets, that of immortality. He ruminates that, as his life moves on and he gets older, he is becoming more and more doubtful of immortality. Like most artists, Keats believes that his work will be his legacy, a way he can live on forever, but his problem is different: he isn't sure that his work is worthy of living on forever. He worries that his writing isn't good enough to last, a worry that is as much unfounded as it is necessary. This is one of the most beautiful renditions of such a rumination, something destined to be read, studied, and enjoyed for years to come. The reason being so is it's overall self-awareness and ability to admit uncertainty.

So here we have two major questions from two majors. One wonders how many modern literary figures have new answers for them, or if they could render them as beautiful as Shelley and Keats have. I'm sure, as time and history change, perspectives change, and new answers and insights can be seen through modern works. But these two have laid a steady groundwork, creating meaningful poetry with a beautiful technique.