Percy Bysshe Shelley as a Romantic Poet

 

● Introduction:

Percy Bysshe Shelley is considered a later Romantic poet. Along with Lord Byron and John Keats, he belonged to the second generation of Romantic poets. His work, which emerged in the early 19th century, followed the initial wave of Romanticism led by poets like William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

■ Points of Shelley as a Romantic Poet:

Shelley is a Romantic poet because his works show several characteristics of Romanticism:

● Love of Nature

● Imagination

● Melancholy 

● Supernaturalism and Mysticism

● Beauty 

● Innovation in Style and Form

☆ Love of Nature:

Percy Bysshe Shelley’s appreciation for nature is evident throughout his poetry, reflecting a fundamental characteristic of Romantic poets. In “Mont Blanc,” Shelley pays tribute to the awe-inspiring presence of the natural landscape:

"The everlasting universe of things

Flows through the mind, and rolls its rapid waves,

Now dark—now glittering—now reflecting gloom."

Here, the mountain is not just a physical presence but also a profound influence on the human mind and spirit. This interaction between the natural world and human perception shows nature’s beauty.

Additionally, in “To a Skylark,” Shelley admires the bird’s effortless connection with the natural world, describing it as a “blithe Spirit” who is

"Higher still and higher

From the earth thou springest

Like a cloud of fire."

The skylark’s song transcends the mundane realities of the world and represents the purity and sublime beauty of nature that Shelley held in high esteem.

Through these poems, Shelley not only highlights nature’s beauty but also its deep, spiritual significance, which was a central theme in Romantic literature.

☆ Imagination:

Imagination is a distinctive feature of Romantic poets. Shelley calls poetry " The expression of Imagination " because in it diverse things are brought together in harmony instead of being separated through analysis. His expedition was successful when he made the people understand that the people understand that the task of Imagination is to create shapes by which reality can be revealed to the world. 

☆ Melancholy:

Melancholy occupies a prominent place in romantic poetry. Because it is a major source of inspiration for the romantic poets. Though Shelley was a man of hope and expectation and spiritualistic about the future of mankind, Yet he represents himself in his poems as a man of ill luck, subject to evil and suffering. He expresses this in his " Ode to the West Wind",

" Oh, lift me as wave, a leaf , a cloud,

I fall upon the throne of life, I bleed!

A heavy weight of hours has chained and bound 

One to like thee".

☆ Supernaturalism and Mysticism:

Shelley often used mysticism and supernatural elements in his poetry. This allowed him to discuss big philosophical and existential questions in an abstract way.In his poem “The Witch of Atlas,” Shelley creates a mystical character, the Witch, who uses her supernatural powers to navigate and influence the world around her.

" Before those cruel Twins, whom at one birth

Incestuous Change bore to her father Time,

Error and Truth, had hunted from the Earth

All those bright natures which adorned its prime,

And left us nothing to believe in, worth

The pains of putting into learnèd rhyme,

A Lady Witch there lived on Atlas’ mountain

Within a cavern by a secret fountain".

This portrayal enhances the mystical quality of his work and illustrates his fascination with unseen forces and mythical beings.In “Adonais,” an elegy dedicated to John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley incorporates mysticism as he reflects on death.

☆ Beauty:

Beauty is an other element of Romanticism in Shelley’s poetry. Beauty to Shelley is an ideal in itself and he calls it " Intellectual Beauty ". He celebrates Beauty as a mysterious power . He says that when intellectual beauty departs this world becomes a " Dim vast vale of tears,vacant and desolate" and if human heart is its temple then man would become immortal and omnipotent:

" Man were immortal and omnipotent 

Did'st thou, unknown and awful as thou art,

Keep with thy glorious train firm state

Within his heart".

☆ Innovation in Style and Form:

Shelley is recognized for his innovative approach to style and form in poetry, which set him apart as a pioneering figure within the Romantic movement. One notable example is his use of the terza rima rhyme scheme in “Ode to the West Wind.”Due to its complexity, this challenging form, consisting of interlocking triplets (ABA BCB CDC, etc.), is rare in English poetry. Yet, Shelley mastered it to enhance the poem’s flowing, wind-like movement:

" O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being,

Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead

Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing."

Furthermore, Shelley’s drama “Prometheus Unbound” demonstrates his experimental narrative form, which breaks from traditional structures to allow for a more expressive and philosophical exploration of themes.This work does not adhere to conventional plot development and instead focuses on the symbolic and thematic representations of human struggle and potential.Through such innovations, Shelley expanded the possibilities of poetic expression and contributed significantly to developing Romantic literature. Moreover, it emphasizes creativity and formal experimentation.

■ Conclusion:

In conclusion, Percy Bysshe Shelley exemplifies the Romantic poet through his profound engagement with personal emotion, nature, idealism, societal critique, stylistic innovation, and mystical themes.His works reflect a strong connection with the natural world and a committed stance against social injustice, expressed through innovative poetic forms.

• My references are:

https://spunkynotes.com/shelley-as-a-romantic-poet/

https://www.scribd.com/document/475685704/SHELLEY-AS-A-ROMANTIC-POET

Thank you...