Percy Bysshe Shelley

Percy Bysshe Shelley Poems

Percy Bysshe Shelley is one of the most important English poets. He was born in 1792 and died in 1822 at twenty-nine. He was part of the Romantic poetry movement in England and influenced a generation of poets.

Some of his best-known poems are ‘Ozymandias‘ and To a Skylark.’

Ozymandias

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

‘Ozymandias’ is about the nature of power. It is an important piece that features how a great ruler like Ozymandias, and his legacy, was prone to impermanence and decay.

This poem is a prime example of Shelley's poetry in several ways. It reflects his political and social radicalism, which is evident in his condemnation of tyrants and his belief in the power of literature to bring about social change. The poem portrays the hubris of a ruler who believed that his power and fame would last forever, only to be forgotten by history.

I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

To a Skylark

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

‘To a Skylark’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley is an ode. It celebrates the beauty of nature and the bliss of a skylark’s song.

This poem is a great example of Shelley's poetic style, characterized by his use of vivid imagery, lyrical language, and celebration of nature's beauty and majesty. Like many of Shelley's works, this poem celebrates the beauty and freedom of nature and its ability to inspire and uplift the human spirit. The skylark in the poem is personified as a "blithe spirit" whose song is compared to the music of the spheres.

Hail to thee, blithe Spirit! 

Bird thou never wert, 

That from Heaven, or near it,

Explore more poems from Percy Bysshe Shelley

A Lament

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

The poem, ‘A Lament’, was written by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Lament means to grieve about something. It’s unclear exactly what he is

A Song: “Men of England”

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

‘A Song: “Men of England”’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley is a Romantic poem that calls for the English revolution. It is set in England in 1819 when the poem itself was written. 

Men of England, wherefore plough

For the lords who lay ye low?

Wherefore weave with toil and care

The rich robes your tyrants wear?

Invocation

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

The poem, ‘Invocation’ is one of the loveliest lyrics of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Like many other lyrics by him, this

Love’s Philosophy

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Before beginning ‘Love’s Philosophy’ is important to discuss the title. The term “philosophy” carries with it some heavy implications. The title implies

Mutability

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

‘Mutability’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley is a description of the variable nature of our world and the fleeting lives of human beings.

Ode to the West Wind

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

‘Ode to the West Wind’ was written in Cascine Woods, outside of Florence, Italy, and published in 1820. It focuses on death’s necessary destruction and the possibilities of rebirth.

The Cloud

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

‘The Cloud’ is one of the famous poems of Shelly. Shelly personifies the cloud. In other words, he gives it

The Question

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

‘The Question’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley tells of a dream in which a speaker encounters a vast forest of pristine, blooming flowers. 

Time

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

‘Time’ contains an almost cruel irony as it talks of the perilous nature of the sea and it would later

To Night

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

This is a remarkable lyric by Percy Bysshe Shelley. It is full of the passion and the yearning so typical

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