Reading Notes W8: Shelley, Part B

The disposition of Percy Bysshe Shelley is interesting. Based on the information provided by the Life and Work sections of Norton Anthology of World Literature Volume E describing Shelley; he was a bit of an enigma. Life many writers we've studied so far this semester, he appears to have had a mixed bag reception while living. The brilliant nature of his work wasn't acknowledged until he was long gone. More than most, he appears to be one of the most divisive, with many outright questioning his ideals and morals as a human being. The following from the introduction of his work solidifies this point: "A forthright advocate of vegetarianism, free love, anarchism, Irish nationalism, and atheism, the English poet Percy Shelley provoked so much alarm among his contemporaries that his critics accused him of spreading corruption, aligning himself with Satan, and undermining the nation" (395). Even with some literary figures changing there mind regarding his work, "for some - admirers and critics alike- he appears as the abstract and philosophical poet-aristocrat who crafted beautiful and dreamy poetic reconciliations of humans with their world" (395). Based on these descriptions, Shelley automatically grabbed my attention when considering the divisive nature of his work. Shelley's poem "Stanzas Written in Dejection, December 1818, near Naples", provoked my interest most, especially, when placed together with Dickinson's "1593" which I chose to right notes on during Part A. Both use images of nature to evoke feelings of despair; one from an internal standpoint and the other from chaos of a storm.

• Shelley uses the juxtaposition of the calmness of nature to contrast with the depression that's felt inside. Projecting utter despair into surroundings that are the antithesis of how he feels
• "The Sun is warm, the sky is clear,/The waves are dancing fast and bright," (1-2, 398). These lines along with the following two stanzas display the beauty surrounding(the beach, sun, soft waves of the ocean), creating enticing imagery for the reader that takes a turn once exploring the inner-workings of the narrator
• "Others I see whom these surround,/Smiling they live and call life pleasure:/To me that cup has been dealt in another measure" (25-27, 398). Everything the calmness of nature can represent to an individual (IE the beauty, peace, tranquility), doesn't resonate with the narrator.
• Considering this poem has a date in it's title, December 1818; we can infer the struggles suffered during this point of Shelley's life stem from the loss of his two children as described in the following, "The Shelley;s married with Godwin's consent, but their two living children died within nine months of each other in 1818 and 1819" (396). This fact provides context for why this poems themes feature such agony/despair.

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Stanzas Written in Dejection, December 1818, near Naples" The Norton Anthology of World Literature Volume E. 395-398.