Percy Bysshe Shelley: Poet And Revolutionary (revolutionary Lives)

Percy Shelley (1792-1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. This biography of emphasises the political, revolutionary side of his dramatic life. Shelley has long been revered for his poems To A Skylark and The Mask of Anarchy, but this was not always the case. During his short and tragic life he was regarded with loathing as an immoral atheist and his work received damning reviews as a result. His was a story of extremes - his radical ideas were unusual as he was the son of a wealthy landowner and set to become a Whig MP. Today, a focus on his belief in sexual freedom and vegetarianism often eclipses his informed internationalist and revolutionary politics. Admired by Oscar Wilde, Thomas Hardy, W. B. Yeats and Karl Marx, Shelley's legacy remains with us today - his words have been used by popular movements from the Chartists and the Suffragettes to Tiananmen Square, the Poll Tax protesters and modern Greek solidarity movements. Today, Percy Bysshe Shelley is an emblem of the Romantic movement and one of the lights of English culturehis poems memorized by schoolchildren, his life honored with a memorial in Westminster Abbeys Poets Corner. That wasnt always the case, however. In his own day, Shelley was widely loathed, seen as an immoral atheist and a traitor to his class for his revolutionary politics. His work was damned as well, receiving scathing reviews rooted as much in disapproval of his politics and personal life as in the verse itself. Thats the Shelley that Jacqueline Mulhallen brings to life in this accessible, political the Shelley who, though writing when the working class was in its infancy, clearly graspedand wanted to changethe system of oppression under which laborers and women lived. The revolutionary Shelley, Mulhallen shows, has long served as an inspiration to figures from Karl Marx to W. B. Yeats to the poets and writers of today, and for popular movements like the Chartists and the suffragettes, even as his public image and poetry became part of the establishment. An engaging look at one of English history and literatures most compelling, complicated, and talented figures, Percy Bysshe Shelley will be a valuable contribution to our understanding of the man and his work. This Biography Explores The Foundation Of Shelley's Revolutionary Politics--his Anger At A System In Which The Rich Lived Luxuriously At The Expense Of The Poor And Oppressed, Causing War, Colonialism And Suffering. An Anti-monarchist And A Forerunner Of Civil Disobedience, His Poetry Was Considered Blasphemous And Seditious, And Was Pirated By The Radical Press To Reach New Working Class Audiences. His Revolutionary Ideals Were Espoused By All Those Fighting For A More Equal Society, And His Work Inspired Radical Movements And Thinkers Including The Chartists, Marx And Gandhi. Today His Words Are Still Used, From Tiananmen Square To The Anti-austerity Struggles Across Europe.--page 4 Of Cover. Shelley's Family Background And Education : 1792-1811 -- The Lake District, Ireland And Devon : 1811-13 -- Tremadog, Queen Mab And The 'hermit Of Marlow' : 1813-18 -- Italy And Shelley's Annus Mirabilis : 1818-19 -- Satire And Drama : 1819-22 -- The Legacy Of A Revolutionary. Jacqueline Mulhallen. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Explores the foundation of Shelley's revolutionary politics - his anger at a system in which the rich lived luxuriously at the expense of the poor and oppressed, causing war, colonialism and suffering. An anti-monarchist and a forerunner of civil disobedience, his poetry was considered blasphemous and seditious, and was pirated by the radical press to reach new working class audiences AcknowledgementsPrologue1. Shelley's Family Background and Education: 1792-18112. The Lake District, Ireland and Devon: 1811-133. Tremadog, Queen Mab and the 'Hermit of Marlow': 1813-184. Italy and Shelley's Annus Mirabilis: 1818-195. Satire and Drama: 1819-22NotesIndex A biography of one of England's greatest poets, uncovering his radical, political influence.