The Path of Shelley's 'Winged Thoughts'
Writing much of his poetry on the Continent, away from England where his readership lived, and dying only three years after the composition of much of his best work, Percy Bysshe Shelley had little control over the transmission of his poetry. At the time of its initial publication, “Ode to the West Wind” appeared as part of a larger volume, entitled Prometheus Unbound, also the name of its signature, featured poem which overshadowed “Ode to the West Wind.” Following Shelley’s untimely death, his wife, Mary Shelley, dedicated herself to organizing and publishing Shelley’s work, and is largely responsible for the transmission of Shelley’s work that occurred posthumously.
Piecing together a publication and composition history is particularly befitting for Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ode to the West Wind,” for the theme of transmission of words and thoughts is interlaced conspicuously within the lines of the poem itself. In the final stanza of the poem, the poet beseeches the West Wind, a natural and divine life-force, to “Drive my dead thoughts over the universe/ Like withered leaves to quicken a new birth!” (lines 63-64) Shelley continues to address transmission in the next tercet, writing “Scatter, as from an unextinguished hearth,/ Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!” (lines 66-67). These imperatives contain Shelley’s lofty expectations for the dissemination of his words; however, when the actual path his words followed is studied, great disparity emerges between the ways in which Shelley envisioned his poem entering the world, and the way it actually reached an audience. While today “Ode to the West Wind” is widely known, and respected as one of Shelley’s best poems, during the few years the poem and poet lived simultaneously, Shelley’s visions for the transmission of “Ode to the West Wind” were limited, and boasted no divine intervention.
Shelley’s notebooks and preserved manuscripts provide much information about the composition history behind ‘Ode to the West Wind.” In mid-October, 1819, Shelley walked along the river Arno, located near Florence, watched the autumn wind rustle and sweep the leaves strewn about the ground, and drew inspiration for the composition of “Ode to the West Wind.” Shelley’s own note included with the published version of the poem states, “This poem was conceived…one a day when that tempestuous wind, whose temperature is at once mild and animating, was collecting the vapours which pour down the autumnal rains.” (Wu, 859) His notebooks show the meticulous level of observation with which Shelley studied this scene; one page of preliminary notes contains a drawing of a
The people that live there are extremely isolated and cut off from many things such as love, art or anything that is outside of their daily lifestyles. The Isolation that Pleasantville is in keeps the excitement and beauty of life away from the people of the town, and it causes characters such as Bill Johnson and Betty Parker much grief. Bill waited the whole year to do what he loved, painting the window of his restaurant, just once a year, and Betty has to live a lifestyle she is truly tired of. Pleasantville is so isolated from the real world that the people don't know that they can do what they want, the only thing they know how to do is to follow their daily routines and customs no matter if they enjoy them or not. This all changes however when David and Jennifer are sent into Pleasantville, Jennifer's actions causes the people of the city to become aware about sex, love and relationships, by doing that she starts to bring the town out of isolation and shows them the possibilities of what they can
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, was the daughter of the radical feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft, and the political philosopher, William Godwin, and the wife of the Romantic poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley. Through these familial affiliations, she was also acquainted with Lord Byron, Samuel T. Coleridge, and other literary figures such as Charles and Mary Lamb. Surrounded by such influential literary and political figures of the Romantic Age, it is not surprising that as an adolescent, at the age of 19, she wrote Frankenstein. Though critically a failure, (British Critic,1818 and Monthly Review, 1818) the novel has never been out of print and has been translated into numerous languages. What is surprising, however, is the enormous body of knowledge contained in the novel. The novel contains references to the fields of literature, poetry, science, education, politics, history, and mythology. How did such a young girl, living a life considered morally objectionable to society and harassed by family and financial burdens, acquire such a vast amount of knowledge in all fields of study that encompassed the important issues of her day? Through examination of biographical information and Mary Shelley's journal entries, we will be able to answer this question. Following, I also plan to highlight Mary Shelley's knowledge of literature with primary emphasis on the works studied by the monster in relation to his origins as well as Mary Shelley's.
To begin with, there are many common reasons why teenage pregnancy takes place. In fact, 60% of teenage mothers come from economically disadvantaged households and perform poorly in school. Alex McKay, research coordinator for the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada, explains, "Young women who feel optimistic about their future tend not to get pregnant. Young women who are starting to feel discouraged about their employment are more likely to get pregnant." Moreover, 79% of teen pregnancies happen to unmarried teen couples. The male is usually older than the female in the relationship, and pressures the girl into having unprotected sex. Girls born to teenage mothers also have a 22% higher chance of becoming teen moms themselves, for they often live in a poor environment, like their mothers once did. Significantly, those affected by teenage pregnancy have many similarities.
Percy Bysshe Shelley began life in Horsham, Sussex, England as the oldest child out of seven children. Shelley faced much hardship throughout his life for his controversial views and philosophies. Percy's life however got better after he married Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, his second wife, as they were intellectually equal and both wrote.
Percy Bysse Shelley’s Ode to the West Wind is a dramatization of man’s useless and “dead thoughts” (63) and Shelley’s desire from the Autumn wind to drive these “over the universe” (65) so that not only he but man can start anew. The thoughts are first compared to the leaves of trees but as the poem progresses the thoughts are paralleled with the clouds and finally the “sapless foliage of the ocean” (40). Shelley personifies himself with the seasons of the Earth and begs the West Wind to drive him away thus allowing him to lost and become the very seasons. In the end Shelley’s metamorphosis is realized and he becomes the very wind and the power with which he humanized throughout the poem.
Unlike writers such as Edgar Allen Poe, Longfellow’s poems were “overly optimistic and sentimental” (Kinsella 256). He stood out amongst any other writer of his time. While most authors wrote dark, gothic works and stories, Longfellow’s were happy, positive and encouraging due to his wonderful childhood. He was inspired by his hometown, Portland, the sea, poets like Sir Walter Scott and Samuel Rogers, literature and music were all inspirations to him (Arvin 8/9). These parts of his childhood along with the new, exciting ideas of Romanticism are what shaped Longfellow’s style of writing. This is what drew in his audience because his poems were relatable and were written from the heart. Even though Longfellow went through some hard times with the loss of two wives and suffering from vertigo and peritonitis, he never allowed these complications affect his writing or his calmness (Kunitz 5). His control over his mind and body helped create some of the most beloved p...
Nature and civilization have always shared a strong bond and; as seen throughout history, when human interaction challenges this bond a tension between Mother Nature and humankind arises. One job of the poet is to reveal this tension through his or her poetry in an attempt to quell the quarreling. Percy Shelley was one such poet that viewed society as being fractured from nature and throughout his poetry one can find examples of this as well as of the benefits from society becoming synchronized with the world. Timothy Morton’s “Within You Without You”; a section within The Cambridge Companion to Shelley, attempts to summarize Shelley’s argument in his poetry that mankind and Mother Nature are in a state of disagreement and need to reconcile to be harmonious. Although Morton accurately analyses the majority of Shelly’s works, which leads to theories that can apply universally in his poetry, some of the statements Morton presents challenge what the poet wrote.
Unlike the neoclassical writers who favored the safe and calm nature of pastures and meadows, Shelley favored the dark unpredictable and intimidating side of nature. For this reason he wrote about the west wind (autumn wind) in his poem Ode to the West Wind. The west wind comes after the summer time and announces the coming of autumn and then goes into the winter. The wind is violent and dark; it harkens death and suggest the upcoming winter. It’s not a happy wind. This violent wind is something that would have been feared by neoclassical writers and would have never been written about. Since Romantics didn’t like to use rhyming couplets, Shelley wrote Ode to the West Wind as a lyrical Ode. It consist of 14 lines and follows the rhyme scheme of aba bcb cdc ded ee. Shelley writes a lot about melancholy in Ode to the West Wind a trait commonly found in Romantic writers. He expresses his growing sadness and unhappiness throughout the poem. Romantic writers were fascinated with the idea of Revolution, because the American Revolution had just occurred and the French Revolution was an ongoing event. In Ode to the West Wind some ideas of revolution can be seen, where Shelley is praising the wind for being different and going
Thesis: There was no end to the apparent contradictions of personal philosophy versus popular culture, and what Shelley actually accomplished in his short life. Shelley was cognoscente of this contradiction, as can be seen in his Preface to The Revolt of Islam, and it continually shadowed his career.
In his poem, “To a Skylark,” Percy Shelley praises the title character as well as implores the creature to teach him happiness. Yet the kind of happiness he seeks is different than the kind of tainted human emotion he naturally experiences but rather to understand the raw and heavenly joy that the skylark is graced with. “Teach us, Sprite or Bird,” (line 62 pg 892) Shelley pleads to the creature that he so fondly praises throughout the poem with its unity with nature.
Percy Bysshe Shelley had a strong, disapproving voice. The prominent English Romantic poet’s works were based on his beliefs. Born on August 4, 1792 to Timothy and Elizabeth Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley was the eldest among five. Many see Shelley as an exceptional English poet. It is believed that “one of the branches of his family is a representative of the house of the illustrious Sir Philip Sidney of Penshurst” (London Metropolitan Conservative Journal 6). Percy Shelley delightfully accepted the fact that he had this connection with one of his relatives. Ever since his days of youth, Shelley showed a sign of interest in writing. Shelley wrote many well-known conspicuous works, such as The Necessity of Atheism. He created works that contradicted a majority of people.
Percy Bysshe Shelley is a very influential Romantic poet, who is part of what is the second generation of Romantic poets, the “young hellions”. He is catagorized with Lord Byron and John Keats, who are also important poets during their times. Shelley, like his other two comrades, died at a young age, as they lived fast and hard. He had died in a boating accident, when he was 29 years old. Shelley had a few notable poems, such as Ozymandias, Ode to the West Wind, and To a Skylark. As a Romantic poet, Shelley often used connected nature to spirit, and did that using examples of personification in his poems Ode to the West Wind and To a Skylark.
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born in 1791 in London. She is the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Goodwin. Wollstonecraft was a radical feminist writer, and Goodwin was a writer as well as a philosopher. It was said that this couple's combined intellect was dangerous to society; however, days after Mary's birth, Wollstonecraft died due to complications from the pregnancy. Mary spent a lot of time visiting her mother's grave when she was growing up. Her father taught her how to spell her mother's name by having her trace the letters on the headstone with her fingers, an interesting yet morbid way to teach a seven year old how to spell. Goodwin raised Mary by himself for the early part of her life. When Mary was four, he married Mary Jane Clairmont, who also had children from a previous marriage. Mary never fully accepted the stepfamily; she always felt like an outsider. Many of her feelings of loneliness and longing to know her mother are issues that are prevalent in the novel Frankenstein. These issues are analogous to the search that the monster had for his creator.
“While Mrs. Bush understands the right of all Americans to express their political views, this event was designed to celebrate poetry.” – Office of the First Lady, in regards to the cancellation of a poetry symposium. (Benson)
According to the daily mail (2009), Britain has the highest rate of teenage birth and abortion rate among western European country in spite of it been the largest...