Rivers/Bodies of Water

Moving water functions as a prominent symbol in “Mont Blanc.” The river Arve is depicted at length in the second and third stanzas of the poem, and from the first stanza the image of water flowing and creating waves is twinned with mental processes of human cognition. The perpetual ambient noise of flowing water is also a significant symbol in the verse. This noise is like the chatter of a sentient universe, something that Shelley suggests offers potential guidance to humanity.

Clouds

Clouds are depicted in two instances in the verse (15, 58). In the second stanza the shadow of a cloud is referred to as marker of celestial motion across the river Arve. In this sense the cloud is a harbinger of some universal sentience emerging. It also draws attention to the fluid interplay between the terrestrial and the celestial. In the third stanza...