A Defence of Poetry

Percy Shelley defines poetry in two different ways; one definition is that poetry is all works of imagination, and the other is that poetry is arrangements of language, especially metrical language. Throughout “A Defence of Poetry,” how does one distinguish between which version of poetry that Shelley is discussing? What techniques does he uses to signal to readers which definition he is using?

Shelley argues that imagination is more powerful than reason, and reason is a tool for the imagination. According to Shelley, what is the difference between reason and imagination? Why is this difference important, and how does it have ramifications for society?

Shelley is reacting against his friend Thomas Love Peacock’s essay “The Four Ages of Poetry.” Peacock argues that poetry has become derivative and is in decline. What is Shelley’s argument in response to Peacock?