As a visionary poet – who was one of the key pioneering figures during the era of poetic romanticism – he harkened to the power of emotion, individualism, and the potential for human transformation through his many acclaimed works.
Born in 1972 and despite facing many struggles owing to his radical views that diverged from society, he was deeply passionate about social justice and ideologies associated with ‘human freedom’. He was a figurehead that remained committed to his belief that while poetry is a tool that may be characterised by a sense of ‘idealism’ but only through the power of ‘imagination’ one can seek to bring about change in the world. Many of his works advocated the need to master political resistance.
For him, poetry embodied the true romantic personification of the human spirit, mind, and nature.
Transience of the human spirit, power, and beauty were some key themes that pulsate in his works. His renowned work ‘Ozymandias’ (1818) talks about the impermanence of power and the transient nature of human achievements with a particular focus on how the grandiose existence and political rule of empires would soon fall prey to decay and stagnation overtime. Furthermore, his work ‘Prometheus Unbound’ (1820) harkens to the human potential to achieve physical and spiritual liberation from tyranny and ‘To a Skylark’ (1820) highlights human beauty being fleeting. Some of his works like ‘Masque of Anarchy’ advocated the need for non-violent resistance against political tyranny and appealed to the masses due to its passionate cries to seek change.
Shelley’s life and achievements, although tragically cut short in a boating accident at the age of 29, were not just limited to his own poetic genius but rather his works continue to inspire the imaginations of countless readers and fellow writers. He believed in the power of art to not only reflect the human condition but to politically and morally uplift and transform it – a vision that remains as relevant and compelling today as it was in his era. His legacy endures as a beacon of intellectual courage, creative freedom, and the relentless pursuit of beauty and justice.
COUPLETS:
‘If winter comes, can spring be far behind?’ (‘Ode to the West Wind’, 1819)
‘An old, mad, blind, despised, and dying King;
Princes, the dregs of their dull race, who flow
Through public scorn,— mud from a muddy spring;
Rulers who neither see nor feel nor know,
But leechlike to their fainting country cling
Till they drop, blind in blood, without a blow’ ( ‘England in 1819’, 1819)
‘It is the same! — For, be it joy or sorrow,
The path of its departure still is free:
Man’s yesterday may ne’er be like his morrow;
Nought may endure but Mutability’ (‘Mutability’, 1816)
