Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

1996

Thesis Director

Randall L. Beebe

Abstract

Although Percy Bysshe Shelley has been recognized for his use of the Wandering Jew, critics have failed to produce a definitive work examining how this biblical legend figures into an understanding of the poet's changing world views. Since a comprehensive analysis was lacking, I studied Shelley's treatment of the Wandering Jew in each work that included the character to determine whether or not a relationship existed between Shelley's management of the figure and the poet's world beliefs. This thesis records the results of that study.

In his earliest works involving the Wandering Jew--those written between 1810-1812--Shelley's treatment of the Wandering Jew suggests that he was not only uncertain about how this strange biblical and literary figure fit into his works, but also that the Wandering was symptomatic of his own changing, unconventional convictions at this time. Later works including the Wandering Jew--those composed between 1813-1814--depict Ahasuerus as an impious and irreverent rebel, one battling organized religion and political despotism. However, the Wandering Jew appearing in Shelley's final works--those produced between 1819-1821--suggest the poet's contempt of religious institutions and political systems has once again changed. In light of the Wandering Jew's transformation over the span of Shelley's literary career, I have concluded that the Wandering Jew embodies Shelley's religious, political and social views and that by tracing the Wandering Jew's transformation in Shelley's works, readers are better able to trace his development as poet and thinker.

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