DEVELOPMENT OF P.B.

SHELLEY
1792 - 1822
• First Phase
• Features:
• His poetry appears filled with a spirit of an Uncompromising, Offensive and
reformative mind.
• Influence of Southey ,Wordsworth and Coleridge is prominent.

• Major Poems of the Period:

i) Queen Mab (1812 – 13)
Full of indignation against religion, commerce, politics and social order of
the day.
 DEVELOPMENT OF P.B. SHELLEY
1792 - 1822
• Alastor (1815)
• A story of an idealist who efforts to see some counterpart of his ideal in real world
but fails. He also criticizes the majority for living in a world full of delusions.
• The poem is filled with his deep desire for solitude in Nature where he can find some
rationalized meditation.
• Hymn To Intellectual Beauty (1817)
• In this poem Shelley expresses his feelings of glorification for the goddess of intellect
and rationality and mourns for the nonsensible attitude of people.
 DEVELOPMENT OF P.B. SHELLEY
1792 - 1822
• The Revolt of Islam (1817)
• The poem shows his passion for liberation and revolutionary idealism though he was
deeply hurt by the disillusionment of French revolution.
• It also reflects his preference for atheism. (Read Preface)

Second Phase
Features:
• Controlled Passion and enthusiasm
• The tone is realistic and calmer.
 DEVELOPMENT OF P.B. SHELLEY
1792 - 1822
• Major Poems of the Period:
• The Cenci (1819)
• It revolves round the cruelty of existence and man’s absolute subjection to
persistently malignant fate.
• Morality and religion are brought under analysis. Count Cenci fails to fight against
the never agony of destiny and falls a prey to cosmic cruelty.
• The Prometheus Unbound (1819)
• The poem asserts his faith in science and rational standards that only can ensure
human happiness.
 DEVELOPMENT OF P.B. SHELLEY
1792 - 1822
• Major Poems of the Period:
• The Witch of Atlas (1820)
• The poem expresses the essence of romantic love
• Epipsychidion (1821)
• The poem shares his poetic credo in defense of poetry. He seems to be influence by Plato and
William Godwin who advocated the doctrine of free love which is uplifted to platonic faith by
love becomes universal and is beyond human form.
• Adonais (1821)
• An excellent elegy which expresses his deep sorrow over the untimely death of Keats. Here
his lyrical spirit is highly commendable. Here Shelley adopts Spenserian stanza with
personal magnificence.
 DEVELOPMENT OF P.B. SHELLEY
1792 - 1822
• General Features in this Development:
• No Innovation in Poetic Technique
• Adherence to Conventional Forms e.g. Blank Verse
• Minor Inventions of metrical Patterns in Short Poems ( The Sky lark,
The Cloud, The West Wind etc.)
• Highly Subjective
• Lyrical Harmony
• Intellectualization of Nature