Two hundred years ago, on the 8th of July, Percy Bysshe Shelley died in a boating accident in Italy.
While Shelley received very little recognition for his work during his lifetime, in recent decades he has received critical acclaim for his poetic imagery and interplay of skeptical, idealist, and materialistic themes.
Here are five facts about Percy Bysshe Shelley:
- Shelley is most famous for his poetry and for being part of the Romantic movement, which began in the late eighteenth century and emphasized inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual. He also wrote prose fiction and essays on politics, social reform, and philosophy. In 1811, he published an essay, The Necessity of Atheism, and posted it to all the bishops and heads of colleges at Oxford University. This resulted in his expulsion that year.
- Shelley eloped to Scotland with Harriet Westbrook in 1811, but in 1814 he fell in love with sixteen-year-old Mary Godwin (daughter of William Godwin, Shelley’s mentor, and Mary Wollstonecraft). Shelley lived with Mary Godwin, who later wrote Frankenstein, until 1816 when Harriet committed suicide and drowned in the Serpentine in Hyde Park. Despite being against marriage, Shelley married Mary Godwin within a month of Harriet’s death.
- Shelley spent most of his life in financial difficulty and on the run from his creditors. With both Harriet and Mary, he travelled across the UK and Europe. His transitory life was marred by bouts of depression. He also suffered from nightmares, hallucinations, and sleepwalking.
- He travelled and resided with friends (including Lord Byron) and Mary’s sisters from time to time. Shelley actively encouraged polyamorous relationships between his wife, her sisters, and their friends.
- As well as promoting free love, Shelley was periodically put under government surveillance due to his radical beliefs regarding republicanism and atheism. He was also a vegetarian and an advocate for non-violent resistance.
On the 8th of July 1822, Shelley went sailing with friends, but their boat capsized in a storm. His body washed up ten days later, and he was cremated on a beach near Viareggio.
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Ozymandias, Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1819
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Sources:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/percy-bysshe-shelley
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Percy-Bysshe-Shelley
https://www.bl.uk/people/percy-bysshe-shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley – Poetry Archivehttps://poetryarchive.org › Explore › Poets
I found that interesting but I can’t say I like his poetry but then again who am I to say.
I can’t say I like his poetry but then again who am I to say.