Percy shelley poet biography
He refers to two groups of people:. Note: ' Alastor' is presented as a poem about the human mind, but might also be partly based on Shelley's own life:. When early youth had past, he leftHis cold fireside and alienated homeTo seek strange truths in undiscovered lands. The alienated home could refer to his separation from Harriet. As Shelley wrote to Godwin:.
It is a philosophical poem containing many descriptions of the natural surrounding which clearly made a deep impression on the poet, as he describes it to his friend, Thomas Love Peacock:.
Percy shelley poet biography: Percy Bysshe Shelley was.
Pinnacles of snow, intolerably bright, part of the chain connected with Mont Blanc shone thro the clouds at intervals on high. I never knew I never imagined what mountains were before. The immensity of these aerial summits excited, when they suddenly burst upon the sight, a sentiment of ecstatic wonder, not unallied to madness. And remember this was all one scene.
Percy shelley poet biography: Percy Bysshe Shelley was
It all pressed home to our regard and our imagination. The detailed descriptions in the poem act as a distraction from the atheistic message it contains. It opens with the philosophical aspect:. The structure suggests that both parts are meant to be read side by side. All of London was abuzz with talk of their imminent arrival from the Land of the Pharaohs it actually took Belzoni over a year to transport them.
Among the finds was a statue of Rameses II. A fresh interest in Ancient Egypt and its civilisation was growing, and Shelley was no exception. At the same time Harriet, who had been left behind by Shelley, had given birth to a baby boy who would eventually become the heir to the family fortune and baronetcy. This put Mary in a difficult position and led to a period of illness and depression, made worse by the loss of her daughter at ten days old.
Percy shelley poet biography: Percy Bysshe Shelley was
Eventually, Mary asked Claire to leave. Mary became pregnant and at the beginning of the following year gave birth to a baby boy. Meanwhile, Claire had become involved with Lord Byron just at the moment that he went into self-imposed exile. Once in Switzerland, the travelling party developed into a large debating society, staying up into the early hours of the night to discuss philosophy, literature and science.
His surroundings helped to move him in a way that allowed him to explore the idea of worshipping beauty, rather than a deity. On their return to England, Harriet committed suicide and Shelley lost custody of the children. A few weeks later, Shelley married Mary and the family moved to Marlow in Buckinghamshire, accompanied by Claire and her daughter Allegra.
The uncomfortable living arrangement inevitably caused further friction and after the birth of another child by Mary, Shelley left for London with Claire alongside him. During this period, Shelley was briefly arrested as his spiralling debts had finally caught up with him. ByShelley had ingratiated himself in a London group which included literary figures such as John Keats and William Hazlitt.
In this environment, he wrote a significant work called Laon and Cythna which dealt with difficult themes and attacks on religion, causing it be re-edited and reissued to deal with the backlash. The task was to create a poem based on the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II. InShelley took his family to Italy where they moved from city to city.
Two of the Shelley's children died and Mary herself suffered a nervous breakdown. Nonetheless, this was the most productive period of Shelley's life. Poems included 'Prometheus Unbound' and 'Adonais'inspired by the death of his friend and fellow poet John Keats. In Aprilthe Shelleys settled on the bay of Lerici on the north-western Italian coast.
On 8 July, Shelley was returning from visiting his friends Lord Byron and James Leigh Hunt when his boat overturned and he was drowned. He was cremated and his ashes placed in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome, where Keats was also buried. Clairmont had begun dating the Romantic poet Lord Byron and wished to show him off to her sister.
By the time they commenced the trip, Byron was less interested in Clairmont. Nevertheless, the three stayed in Switzerland all summer. Shelley wrote incessantly during his visit. After a trip through the French Alps with Byron, he was inspired to write Mont Blanca pondering on the relationship between man and nature. In December of the percy shelley poet biography year, it was discovered that Harriet had also committed suicide.
A few weeks later, Shelley and Mary finally married. Amidst their celebration, however, loss pursued Shelley. With these matters settled, Shelley and Mary moved to Marlow, a small village in Buckinghamshire. His publishers balked at the main storyline, which centers on incestuous lovers. He was asked to edit it and to find a new title for the work.
Inhe reissued it as The Revolt of Islam. Byron was living in Venice, and Clairmont was on a mission to bring their daughter, Allegra, to visit with him. For the next several years, Shelley and Mary moved from city to city. While in Venice, their baby daughter, Clara Everina, died.