P B SHELLEY- The Famous Poet
P. B. (Percy Bysshe) Shelley was an
English Romantic poet and dramatist. This biography profiles his childhood,
life, works, achievements and some interesting facts. He was Famous as a Poet,
his nationality was British, he was born on 04 August 1792 AD,His Jodiac Sign
Leo, he born in England, he was died on
08 July 1822 AD, his place of death Lerici,Kingdom of Sardania(now Italy),his father
was Timothy Shelly,mother was Elizabeth Pilfold, his siblings were John Shelly
of Avington House,Mary Shelly, Elizabeth Shelly, Hellen Shelley, Margaret
Shelly,his spouses Harriet WestBrook,Mary Godwin,his childrens were Percy
Florence Shelly, his Education was Syon House Acadamy of Brentford,MiddleSex,Eton College,University
College, Oxford and his works and Achievements were The Revolt of Islam, The
Masque of Anarchy and Men of England.
Percy Bysshe Shelley was an English
Romantic poet best known for his classic
poems and verse
dramas. Although he did not get his due recognition while he lived,we
now know him as one of the finest lyrists ever born in England.Always a rebel,
he refused to submit to fagging at school. Later hewas expelled from Oxford for
publishing an atheist pamphlet. His father’s intervention could have reinstated
him; but Shelley refused to disown the pamphlet. The strained relationship
between father and sonbroke down completely when he eloped with a girl from an
unequal family. From then on, his life was a continuous struggle.For two years,
he did not have any income andhis radical views and faith in free love was not
at all approved by the society. Yet, he worked for the welfare of the people,
writing poems, and distributing pamphlets. Initially, his works were politically oriented. It was only when he settled down in
Italy, away from direct influence of English politics that he began to create
his best works. It is unfortunate that such a promising poet did not live to
see his thirtieth birthday.
Childhood & Early Life:
His mother, Elizabeth Pilfold, came from a landowning family
in Sussex. Percy was the eldest of the couple’s six children and had four
sisters and a brother younger to him.
Percy started his education at home under Reverend Evan Edwards
of nearby Warnham. Later in 1802, he was enrolled at Syon House Academy of
Brentford, Middlesex.
In 1804, he shifted to Eton College. Here he refused to
submit to fagging, a practice which required junior students to serve the
senior boys as servants. As a result, hehad to undergo extreme physical and
mental bullying at the hands of theolder boys.Consequently, his academic performances began to suffer and
he became more and more reclusive.However, he did develop an interest in
science and used his knowledge to cause mischief, going to the extent of
blowing up a tree with gunpowder in the school ground.Concurrently,
he also started writing verses.
In 1810, he passed out from school and entered University
College, Oxford. He studied there for only one year. It is believed that during
this period he attended only one lecture. However, he read a lot and vigorously
pursued his literary ambition.
Career:
In 1810, Shelley published his first book,a Gothic novel
titled ‘Zastrozzi.’It is possible that he had written it while studying at
Eton. The book throws light on his early atheistic as well as heretical views,
which he put in the mouth of the villain Zastrozzi.
In the same year, he also published his first poetry book,
‘Original Poetry by Victor and Cazire.’ These poems were written in
collaboration with his sister Elizabeth while he was in Eton. It is believed
that his father Sir Timothy Shelley initially patronized him a lot and helped
in publication of his books.
In 1810, Shelley wrote another Gothic novel, titled ‘St.
Irvyne; or, The Rosicrucian: A Romance’, which was published in 1811. It was
probably the first book that he had written while studying at Oxford.
Around the same time, Shelley had his fourth book,
‘Posthumous Fragments of Margaret Nicholson’, published. It was a collection of
poems written in collaboration with Thomas Jefferson Hogg, with whom he had
developed a close friendship.Sometime now, healso took out a pamphlet, titled ‘Necessity
of Atheism’ and had it circulated with the help of Hogg. Many critics suspect
that its purpose was to antagonize and provoke the authority, for the title was
more confrontational than the argument.When it came to the notice of the University authorities,
they asked them to repudiate their authorship. The boys refused to do so.
Therefore, in the spring of 1811, Shelley and Hoggwere expelled from Oxford.
The relation between Shelley and his father became strained because of this.His relation with his father broke down completely when at
the end of August 1811Shelley eloped with Harriet Westbrook. Apparently, he
wanted to rescue her from an oppressing boarding school environment.Enraged,
Sir Timothy revoked his son’s allowance, which made Percy’s resolve stronger.After getting married in Edinburg, the couple travelled first
to Devon and then to North Wales before settling down at Keswick in November
1811. Here, he met Robert Southey and William Godwin. This was also the time
when he wrote ‘Queen Mab: A Philosophical Poem’, which reflected Godwin’s socialist
philosophy.In February 1812, he travelled to Dublin, where he took out a
pamphlet titled. ‘An Address to the Irish People’, in which he advocated
political rights for Roman Catholics and autonomy for Ireland. It did not go
down well with the government.Soon, Shelley was disillusioned with his marriage and pined
for more intellectual companionship. He found it in Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin,
the daughter of William Godwin and his first wife, Mary (née Wollstonecraft).In
July 1814, Shelley and Mary eloped to France. Mary’s stepsisterClaire
accompanied them. The trio travelled, mostly on foot, through France,
Switzerland and Germany. By the time they returned to England, Shelley was
heavily in debt and to avoid the creditors, hekept moving from place to place.Respite came when his grandfather, Sir Bysshe Shelley, 1st
Baronet of Castle Goring, died in January 1815. Provision of his will forced
Sir Timothy to grant Percy an annual income and pay up his debt.Now with a steady income,
Percy B Shelley
concentrated on writing.
In late 1815,
while living in a cottage in Bishopsgate, Surrey, he
wrote ‘Alastor, or The Spirit of Solitude’. Critics consider it to be his first
major work.Sometime in the middle of 1816, Shelley and Mary travelled to
Switzerland to meet the renowned poet, Lord George Gordon Byron. They had been
urged by Claire to take this trip as she had a romantic interest in Byron.On returning to England, they took up their residence in
Marlow, Buckinghamshir. By this time, Harriet had committed suicide and Shelley
was able to marry Mary. At Marlow, they began socializing with intellectual
giants like Thomas Love Peacock, John Keats, and Leigh Hunt.Shelly’s best known work of this period was 'Laon and Cythna;
or, The Revolution of the Golden City.' It was a long narrative poem, in which
he attacked religion. It was first published in 1817, but was hastily
withdrawn. Later in 1818, it was revised and republished as ‘The Revolt of
Islam.Another outstanding poem that he wrote during this period was
‘Ozymandias.’ It was a sonnet, written in friendly competition with fellow poet
Horace Smith, who also wrote a sonnet on the same topic and with the same
title.In early 1818, Shelley along with his wife, travelledto Italy
with Claire to meet Byron, who at that time was residing at Venice. They
reached Milan in April and then proceeded to visit Pisa and Livorno before
reaching Venice in August 1818. England, in the
company of Lord Byron, the poet in him began to bloom.
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