Mont Blanc: Lines Written in the Vale of Chamouni

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1817

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

Circle

There are numerous references throughout the poem either to circles specifically or to cyclical processes. For example, Line 57 describes how the power of sleep “circles” an individual. Line 126 also references the “circling air.” A circle consists of a single line with no beginning and no end. It is continuous and perpetual. Even when circles are not specifically stated, there are allusions made to the cycle of life itself as it moves along its circular, endless path. This circle of birth, death, and rejuvenation is essential to all ecosystems: “The cycle of life starts at birth—new life—and travels through periods of growth until death and decay. This natural cycle exists in plants, humans, and animals. Microbes break down organic matter into the building blocks of life, so they are available for rebirth and regrowth” (“The Cycle of Life." microbz, 2022.). In Shelley’s poem, Line 95 specifically evokes this cycle as well, as the speaker describes how all things “[a]re born and die; revolve, subside, and swell.” This cycle is essential to allow the universe to continue into “deep eternity” (Line 29).

Clouds

Clouds are mentioned as part of the natural landscape of Mont Blanc, as the speaker describes the “fast cloud-shadows and sunbeams” (Line 15) that they experience looking upon the landscape. Clouds also represent obscurity and the incomprehensibility of Mont Blanc. Humans cannot fully understand the absolute power of nature because when anyone attempts to do so “the very spirit fails, / [d]riven like a homeless cloud from steep to steep” (Lines 57 - 58). Here, clouds represent the disorientation an individual feels in the presence of such a magnificent landmark. The individual is quite literally clouded and shadowed in their lack of understanding. Clouds also serve to hide the complete grandeur of Mont Blanc from those who look upon it. The “viewless gales” (Line 59) shroud the uppermost portions of Mont Blanc, hiding them from the speaker and any other onlookers. Clouds therefore represent the unknown and what remains incomprehensible to the human mind.

Water

From the very opening of the poem, the movement of water equates with the movement of the universe. The universe “flows through the mind” and “rolls its rapid waves” (Line 2). This movement also coincides with the cyclical, perpetual nature of the universe, as described in the paragraph above regarding the symbolism of circles. The “waterfalls” (Line 9) in Mont Blanc’s landscape “leap for ever” (Line 9), alluding to the eternal nature of the universe. The reference to water also serves to symbolize the interconnectedness of all things. As the speaker describes the future destruction of the human world, they relate how all the water from the glaciers will eventually meet in “one majestic River” (Line 123), which “for ever / [r]olls its loud waters to the ocean-waves” (Lines 124-125). Here again is the reference to eternity as the waters connect with one another to form a perpetual link.