The Influence of Calderón and Goethe on Shelley in the Context of A. W. Schlegel's Conception of Romantic Drama

Abstract

This thesis investigates the impact of German ideas of ‘romantic drama’ on Shelley’s dramatic conceptions. Taking his reading of August Wilhelm Schlegel’s Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature in March 1818 as its starting point and fundamental basis, it begins by outlining the concept of ‘romantic drama’ that Shelley encountered in Schlegel and traces its subsequent influence on Shelley’s dramas and theoretical prose. In contrast to previous studies of Shelley’s readings of Goethe and Calderón, which focused on common themes such as the nature of evil, I argue that his interest in these writers can first and foremost be understood in the context of his attempts at forming a new drama. Together with Shakespeare, Calderón was the main representative of ‘romantic drama’ for Schlegel, and Goethe’s reaction to the Spaniard paralleled Shelley’s.
A chapter on Shelley’s reading of Calderón will demonstrate the scope of his engagment with the Golden Age dramatist, while chapters on his Spanish excerpts and his translations from El mágico prodigioso and Faust will elucidate the English poet’s understanding of Calderón’s and Goethe’s dramatic art and intentions. After analyzing The Cenci, Prometheus Unbound, and Charles the First, the thesis will close with a chapter on Hellas which demonstrates how Shelley draws together the dramatic elements and ideas he had encountered in Schlegel, Calderón, and Goethe. This second lyrical drama represents the epitome of his engagement with these European writers.