Georgian

era
HISTORY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE
Presented by: Via A. Lasala
What is the georgian
era?
The georgian era refers
to:
• A period of British history (1714-1830)
• Reigned by the four back-to-back Hanoverian
kings (George I, George II, George III and
George IV.)
• It is often extended – short reign of William
IV (ended with his death in 1837.
• The Georgian era was preceded by the
Stuart period, and followed by the Victorian
era.
House of hanover:
• The House of Hanover,
whose members are known
as Hanoverians, is a
European royal house of
German origin that ruled
Hanover, Great Britain, and
Ireland at various times
during the 17th to 20th
centuries.
 House of hanover:

George i George iii

George ii George iv
wiliam iv Queen victoria
George i
 George i

• After the deaths in of both his

• George I was the King of Great
mother, and his second cousin
Britain and Ireland from 1
Anne, Queen of Great Britain, in
August 1714 - 1727. He was
1714, George took the British
the first British monarch of the
throne as Anne's closest living
House of Hanover.
Protestant relative.
 George i

• During George's reign, Britain began transitioning

into a modern system of a cabinet government led by
a prime minister, and the powers of the monarchy
started to diminish.
George ii
 George ii

• George II, son of George I, was

King of Great Britain and Ireland, • George II outlived his son,
Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Frederick, so upon his death,
(Hanover) and a prince-elector of
George III, his grandson, took the
the Holy Roman Empire from 11
throne.
June 1727 - 1760.
 George ii

• Due to the move towards parliamentary control,

George exercised little control over British domestic
policy, however scholars have concluded he had
more influence in foreign policy and military
appointments than previously thought.
George iii
 George iii
• George III was King of Great Britain
• George III lived for 81 years and
and Ireland from 25 October 1760
reigned for 59 years: both his life
until his death in 1820. He was the
and his reign were longer than
first monarch of the House of
those of his predecessors and
Hanover to have been born in Great
subsequent kings. Only
Britain, speak English as his first
Queens Victoria and Elizabeth II
language has and never visited
lived and reigned longer.
Hanover.
 George iii

• In his final years, he suffered from mental illness

which had returned from previous years, and was
brought on by the death of his youngest and favourite
daughter, Princess Amelia. His son, the Prince of
Wales (later George IV), acted as Regent for the
remainder of George III's life.
George iv
 George iv

• George IV was King of the • His only legitimate child,

United Kingdom of Great Princess Charlotte, died in
Britain and Ireland and King of 1817, so he was succeeded by
Hanover from the 29 January his younger brother, King
1820 until 1830. William IV.
 George iv
•George IV earned himself the title of “the first gentleman of
England”, revolutionising leisure, style and taste. He led an
extravagant lifestyle that contributed to the fashions of the Regency
era and set about remodelling of Buckingham Palace, rebuilding
Windsor Castle and commissioning John Nash to build the Royal
Pavilion in Brighton.

•Despite his keen eye for the arts, his rule was tarnished by scandal
and financial extravagance, and taxpayers were angry at his wasteful
spending during the Napoleonic Wars.
william iv
 William iv

• His reign saw several reforms: the

• William IV was King of the
poor law was updated, child labour
United Kingdom of Great
restricted, slavery abolished in
Britain and Ireland and King of nearly all of the British Empire,
Hanover from 26 June 1830
and the British electoral system
until his death in 1837. was reformed by the Reform Act
1832.
Queen victoria
 Queen victoria
• One of the most famous of British monarchs, Victoria took the
throne in 1837 and reigned for almost 64 years, an amount only
eclipsed by Queen Elizabeth II.

• She ruled over the large British Empire, gaining the title
"Empress of India".After her husband, Prince Albert, died
suddenly in 1861, she was heartbroken and spent the rest of her
life in mourning, make few public appearances and only
wearing black.
The arts
• The Georgian era was a time of
luxurious and splendid architecture,
literature, music, and style. It
transformed Britain into the modern
world we know it as today.
Famous creatives and writers lived in the
Georgian era, from Jane Austen to Mary
Shelley.
A key characteristic of Georgian Britain was its transition away
from the more rationalist Restoration era into a flourishing period
for arts and high culture, particularly in the Regency. 
 
The era was popularized and defined, during and since, by the
writings of Jane Austen, whose romantic novels such as Pride &
Prejudice and Emma are as lauded today for their depiction of
Georgian society as they were during the Regency. 
Poetry went through a golden age, with the rise of
Romanticists such as Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, William
Blake, and John Keats; Shelley’s wife Mary wrote one of
the first and finest science fiction and horror stories
in Frankenstein; the music of Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart
made its way over from the continent. The standard of food
and fashion skyrocketed, the latter bringing an acceptance
toward informal and practical dress, and a “New Gothic”
architectural movement developed.
Georgian architecture

• Georgian architecture is the name

given to the particular designs of
architecture that arose in the Georgian
era. Whilst the Georgian style is
variable, the commonality of the
designs was symmetry and proportion,
which was based on the classical
architecture of Greece and Rome.
The Coronation Banquet of King George IV in Westminster Hall, 1821
 literature fashion
• Literature, too, was transformed in the • The Georgian era, with all its prosperity,
Georgian era, with the likes of Jonathan was a fashion-forward time, and people
Swift, Jane Austen and Daniel Defoe were more concerned about how they
popularising a different new kind of fiction. dressed.
Fiction with long prose and satire moved • Unlike the conservative Victorian era that
away from the traditional form of literature, followed the Georgian period, fashion was
and historical literature became favourable, extravagant and liberal. Women were free to
too. dress more freely, and both men and women
• Not only was Jane Austen one of the first wore ostentatious powdered wigs, inspired
writers to introduce an entirely new style of by the likes of Marie Antoinette and Lady
writing, she also inspired women to take up Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire.
writing in what was a male-dominated
profession.
Marie Antoinette

Lady Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire.

Dancing Milkmaids, Francis Hayman, 1735.
ozymandias
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY (1818)
 Author’s
biography
Don't hesitate to ask any questions!
• Shelley was born on August 4, 1792, to Sir Timothy
and Elizabeth Shelley in Sussex, England. He was one
of six children, of whom he was the eldest brother.
Shelley's halcyon days at the family estate did not
prepare him for the bullying by other boys at Syon
House Academy, in which he enrolled in 1802. Still, he
gained a love for, and education in, sciences such as
astronomy and chemistry.
• At the age of twelve, Shelley entered Eton College, an elite boys school
whose students were drawn from the British aristocracy. During his teenage
years, Shelley found that he was very interested in romance. Not
surprisingly, love and writing became intertwined in his literary style. His
first poetry was published in 1810, as was his first Gothic novel, Zastrozzi.

• In 1810, Shelley entered University College in Oxford. While studying at

Oxford (a one-year stint), Shelley continued to pursue publication. In 1811,
the publication of The Necessity of Atheism destroyed his family
relationships. After expulsion from Oxford, Shelley wrote little and then
eloped with sixteen-year-old Harriet Westbrook in August 1811.
• During 1812 and 1813, Shelley and Harriet visited London, where
Shelley connected with friends, publishers, and literary figures. Among
these was William Godwin, a radical philosopher Shelley admired.
Godwin and his deceased wife (Mary Wollstonecraft) had three
daughters, all of whom fell for Shelley; but Shelley fell in love with
Mary, the youngest. Outraged and heartbroken, Harriet refused an open
marriage and abandoned Shelley. He and Mary ran away together on
July 27, 1814, enjoying six weeks in Europe before returning home
when they ran out of money. Shunned upon their return, Shelley had to
work hard to earn money for himself and Mary. In November, Mary
gave birth to a son named Charles.
• In January 1816, Mary gave birth to another son,
William. When Mary's sister Claire became Lord
George Gordon Byron's mistress, the Shelleys went
with her to Lake Geneva to see him. Byron was also a
poet, and he and Shelley became fast friends,
discussing poetry and philosophy. During this trip,
Byron challenged everyone to write a ghost story, and
Mary's story became the famed novel Frankenstein.
Meanwhile, Shelley found the natural surroundings
inspiring to his poetic spirit.
• The Shelleys' return to England brought the tragic news of the
suicides of Mary's other sister and of Harriet. Harriet's death
led to lengthy court proceedings concerning their children,
who were ultimately placed with a guardian. Shelley married
Mary on December 30, 1816. They moved to Marlow, where
the environment suited Shelley's writing muse, and the couple
interacted with such writers as John Keats and Smith.
• During 1822, Mary was dejected and alone. Shelley, on the
other hand, was content and carefree, spending the summer
sailing and writing. On July 8, however, Shelley's boat
encountered a storm that killed both Shelley and his sailing
companion. Their bodies were recovered ten days later.
Because of Italian law, the bodies had to be cremated, and
Shelley's ashes were buried near his friend Keats's remains in
the Protestant Cemetery in Rome. Mary and the children
returned to England.
 Ozymandias
BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

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,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
 Ozymandias
BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY
1 I met a traveller from an antique land,
2 Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Lines 1 - 2
In "Ozymandias," the reader is receiving the information of the poem
second-hand. The speaker describes what someone else told him. The
speaker is merely a go-between relating information from the
"traveller from an antique land" to the reader. Shelley does this to
increase the distance between the mighty figure that once was
Ozymandias and the present. Not only does the poem describe the
rubble that once was his kingdom, but the speaker is not even looking
directly at the rubble. The emotional result is greatly reduced, as
when a student reads about an historical event or a piece of art rather
than visiting it himself.
The poem begins with the speaker saying that he met a "traveller
from an antique land," which brings to mind a country like Greece or
Egypt. This traveler told the speaker that, in the middle of a desert,
there are pieces of an ancient statue. First, the traveler describes two
huge disembodied legs.
 Ozymandias
BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

I met a traveller from an antique land,

said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
3 Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
4 Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
5 And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Lines 3 - 5
The legs are said to be standing in the sand of the
desert. Near the legs, partially buried in the sand
is the statue's broken face. These two body parts
—the legs and the face—are at opposite ends of
the body, so the resulting image is one that is very
chaotic, inhuman, and unintimidating. On the
broken face, the traveler could see the expression.
It was one with a frown, wrinkled lip, and a
"sneer of cold command."
 Ozymandias
BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

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,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
6 Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
7 Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
8 The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
Lines 6 - 8
The sculptor was very precise in his craftsmanship, creating a very complex and
realistic facial expression. The overall effect of these features is harsh. The
traveler himself comments that the sculptor clearly understood the driving
passion and ambition of his subject. In fact, the traveler suggests that the passions
"yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things." Mindful of the lifelessness of the
broken pieces of statue, the traveler can still sense the passion that the sculptor
strove to preserve in the face. The traveler also notes the "hand that mocked them
[the ruler's people], and the heart that fed." This refers to the power of the king's
hand to gesture and give commands, all of which reinforced his position of
authority over his people. His hand mocked his people; he kept them well below
him so that they could not threaten him. Yet at the same time, the ruler was
human. He had a heart that made sure his people were fed. Ozymandias used his
power to an extent to care for the needs of his people, whether in an attempt to be
a good steward of his subjects or to ensure that his rule would continue by
maintaining the favor of his people.
 Ozymandias
BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

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,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
that its sculptor well those passions read
yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
9 And on the pedestal, these words appear:
10 My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
11 Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
12 Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
13 that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
14 The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
Lines 9 - 11
The last thing the traveler describes about the statue is the pedestal on which it
once stood. The pedestal contains the words that Ozymandias wanted to
communicate to his own generation and those that would come after him; the
words reflect his pride and arrogance. It reads, "My name is Ozymandias, king of
kings: / Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Lines 12 - 14
These words are intensely ironic and provide the springboard into most of the
thematic material of the poem. After all, as the traveler describes, all around the
pedestal is nothingness. A "colossal wreck" of an old statue surrounded by
endless sand is all that remains. The landscape is vast and barren.
ANALYSIS OF
THE POETRY:
 THEMES:

POWER PRIDE

HISTORY
 POWER
• "Ozymandias" is a political poem about • Ozymandias is also the one who ensures
the illusion of fame and power. In the poem, that his people are fed. His power is such
Ozymandias was so proud of his own power that his people seemingly would not be able
and so bent on asserting it that he to provide for their own needs without him.
commissioned a great sculpture of himself In all, the figure of Ozymandias is a
glorifying his own authority. commanding and powerful one.
• The face is stern and resolute, appearing to • More important to Shelley is showing
be unswayed by anyone with less power how this great and mighty authority figure
than he. The hand keeps his people humble, is ultimately reduced to rubble. The power
yet… he once possessed is long gone by the
telling of the poem, and Ozymandias's
great monument to his fame as a ruler is
eroded by time and the elements.
Ozymandias is no longer an intimidating
figure at all.
 PRIDE
• Akin to the theme of power is the theme of
• Ozymandias's pride is also evident in the
pride. Ozymandias was clearly a proud ruler
inscription on the pedestal. It reads, "My
who seems to have been as determined to
name is Ozymanidas, king of kings: Look
hold onto power as he was to proclaim it to
on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" This
all generations. There were numerous rulers
assertive statement to other mighty men is
throughout history who possessed strength,
swollen with pride. He calls himself "king
stability, wisdom, and the respect of their
of kings," indicating that he sees himself as
people and other nations, and some of them
the greatest of all kings.
felt compelled to glorify themselves in art
and architecture, as did Ozymandias.
• Ozymandias had this inscription placed on
a statue that was intended to last for
hundreds of years, reminding future
generations of his greatness, power, and
accomplishments.
 HISTORY
• "Ozymandias" is a bit of history told by a • The poem is a reminder of the historical
traveler to the speaker, who then tells it to reality of cycles of authority and the rise
the reader. It has a strong tie to the oral and fall of nations. Because the statue is
tradition that has kept literary and historical from an ancient civilization, and others have
traditions and lessons alive for hundreds of come and gone between Ozymandias and
years. This fact alone prompts the reader to the speaker's present, the reader can cull a
look for a historical lesson in the poem. The historical lesson. Present-day readers would
lesson reveals itself early; the poem is a be wise to learn from Ozymandias and not
cautionary tale about the transitory nature of repeat his mistake of allowing pride to
rulers and their nations. After all, not only is seduce him into believing that his greatness
Ozymandias gone, but so is the rest of his would be admired forever. The poem also
particular slice of civilization. demonstrates that tyrannical rulers are
nothing new, and that this tendency in man
should be watched for among those in
power.
 STYLE:

SONNET METAPHOR

IRONY
 SONNET
• "Ozymandias" was the result of a sonnet competition with
Smith. Shelley succeeded in containing his expression within
the confines of the sonnet; the poem is fourteen lines of iambic
pentameter, which are very traditional elements. Shelley breaks
from tradition in his rhyme scheme, however. Rather than
adhere to the English or Petrarchan rhyme schemes, Shelley
does something different in "Ozymandias." The rhyme scheme
is ABABACDCEDEFEF.
 Ozymandias
BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

I met a traveller from an antique land, (A)

Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone (B)
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, (A)
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, (B)
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, (A)
that its sculptor well those passions read (C)
yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, (D)
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; (C)
And on the pedestal, these words appear: (E)
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; (D)
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! (E)
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay (F)
that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare (E)
The lone and level sands stretch far away.” (F)
 METAPHOR
• "Ozymandias" is at heart a metaphor. The statue represents the kings
and kingdoms of the past, subject to the ravages of time, nature, and
their own failings. The description of the statue and its inscription
reveals tremendous pride and lost power. The statue, once
magnificent, lies in ruins in the middle of a desert. It is a metaphor for
all kingdoms, which eventually pass out of time to make room for
another kingdom, ruler, or ideology. Shelley demonstrates that nothing
lasts forever, even a ruler as powerful and fearsome as Ozymandias.
 IRONY
• The inscription and placement of the statue brings a strong sense of irony to
the poem. Although in its heyday, the statue's warning to look at Ozymandias's
works and despair would have struck fear and reverence into the hearts of on
lookers, the setting in the poem is quite different. The inscription reads, "Look
on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Now, the works are gone and nothing
remains but a landscape of endless sand. There are no buildings, monuments,
military regiments, or palaces. The "works" seem to be wind and sand—hardly a
cause for despair and terror. Ozymandias's pride appears foolish in this setting,
and he seems to invite the mocking that he once doled out to his people. It is
also ironic that the works that have survived all these years are not
Ozymandias's works at all, but the artist's.
 RAMSES
Most literary scholars agree that "Ozymandias" is based on the
ancient Egyptian ruler Ramses II, or Ramses the Great (1302-
1213 b.c.e.). Smith and Shelley had read about him from the
work of the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, who related an
inscription describing Ramses as a great king whose works
could not be surpassed. As a ruler, Ramses is remembered for
his many imposing monuments, as well as for his roles as
warrior, king, and peacemaker who made Egypt a world
power again.
 RAMSES
In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh held absolute power, although
he was expected to rule and treat his people honorably.
Ramses was determined to be a monument builder and make a
name for himself. He went so far as to remove the names of
other pharaohs on existing monuments and replace them with
his own name. Ramses's works indicate that he associated
himself with the sun god, Ra. The sun imagery compelled the
Egyptians to give Ramses greater loyalty. The temple of
Amun-Ra and Ramses features four sixty-seven-foot tall
statues of Ramses. In the thirty-first year of his reign,
however, an earthquake struck, destroying the top half of one
of the statues.
 RAMSES
Ramses is remembered as a powerful and accomplished
king who brought strength and stability to Egypt. He
was skilled at international relations, while also
reinforcing his status among his own people. He died
after sixty-seven years of rule. He was buried in the
Valley of the Kings, but robbers stole from, desecrated,
and burned the tomb. After being rewrapped and then
moved twice, the mummy of Ramses is now in Cairo's
Egyptian Museum.
ADONAIs
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY (1818)
 ADONAIs
An Elegy on the Death of John Keats
BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

SUMMARY:

Shelley's poem begins with the announcement that

Adonais, who represents Keats, has died. Remember that
Adonais is Shelley's own creation, not a historic or
mythological figure, but we can easily see that Shelley
intends Adonais to attain mythic proportions. Shelley
created the name by combining the name for the Greek
God of Fertility (and beauty), Adonis, and the Hebrew
word, Adonai, meaning ''our Lord.''
 ADONAIs
An Elegy on the Death of John Keats
BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

SUMMARY:

The speaker then calls on the mourners to lament

Adonais' passing. Among the first to be called is
Urania, the Goddess of Astronomy and identified
in the poem as Adonais' mother. Significantly,
Venus, the Goddess of Love and Beauty, is also
called Venus Urania.
 ADONAIs
An Elegy on the Death of John Keats
BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

SUMMARY:

Urania leads a procession of mourners to

Adonias' graveside, where mythological and
historical greats weep for him, from the
illustrious poets, Thomas Moore and Lord Byron,
to the very forces of nature itself: the ocean, the
winds, the morning dew.
 ADONAIs
An Elegy on the Death of John Keats
BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

SUMMARY:

As these mourners cry for the lost Adonais, the

speaker condemns those he blames for the death,
those who by force or by cunning cut down the
hero. Those enemies, the speaker suggests, will
suffer most for their misdeeds, while Adonais'
spirit lives on eternally.
 ADONAIs
An Elegy on the Death of John Keats
BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

SUMMARY:

As the poem closes, the speaker calls for an end

to mourning, recognizing that Adonais has
achieved the happiest state of all: being one with
nature, even as his name and spirit endure in the
form of art, of poetry. This poetic spirit, immortal
and unchanging, will be a source of beauty,
inspiration, and light for all ages to come.
ANALYSIS OF
THE POETRY:
• The Greek in the subtitle is: “Thou wert the morning star
among the living, / ‘Ere thy fair light had fled; / Now, having
died, thou art as Hesperus, giving / New splendor to the
dead.” This is taken from the “Epigram on Aster,” often
attributed to Plato, which Shelley had been translating at the
time of John Keats’ death.
Shelley is mourning the death of his good friend, the young
English poet John Keats. The persona has entered a state of
dejection, calling everyone to mourn with him, and
announcing that Keats should be remembered forever. To do
so, Shelley assigns to Keats’ identity Adonis, a Greek god
who was loved by Venus and died at a very young age, being
torn apart by wild boars.
• The overarching form of the poem is a pastoral elegy,
meaning that a shepherd of sorts is mourning the death of
another. Literarily speaking, the function of pastoral poetry is
reflexive in that it uses older traditions to make complex
emotions seem simpler. The Greek legend of Adonis is a tale
about a handsome youth who was equally admired by
Aphrodite (Urania), Queen of Love, and by Persephone,
Queen of Death. (Shelley makes Urania into Adonis’ mother
in this elegy.) Unable to agree on which Goddess shall have
him, Zeus decided he would spend half the year on Earth
with Aphrodite (the spring and summer) and half the year in
the underworld with Persephone (autumn and winter).
• During a summer hunt, Adonis pierced a boar with his
spear, wounding but not killing the beast. In retaliation, the
boar charged Adonis and stabbed him with his tusk, causing a
lesion that would eventually kill the young and beautiful
prince. It was said that every year the Greek women would
mourn for Adonis when he died, then rejoice when he was
resurrected (in the form of the windflower). Using this myth
as the central theme in the elegy, Shelley is hoping, or
suggesting, that Keats shall be as immortal as the young
Adonis. Beyond the obvious parallel that both were taken at a
young age, Shelley uses this poem to exhort readers to mourn
him in his death, but hold onto him in memory and rejoice in
his virtual resurrection by reading his words.
• Shelley blames Keats’ death on literary criticism that was
recently published (see lines 150-53; he was unaware that
Keats was suffering from tuberculosis). He scorns the
weakness and cowardice of the critic compared with the
poet, echoing his famous essay providing “A Defense of
Poetry.” The poet wonders why Adonis’ mother (“Urania”)
was not able to do more to save her beloved son, and he
summons all spirits, living and dead, to join him in his
mourning. Shelley argues that Keats’ had great potential as
a poet and is perhaps the “loveliest and the last” great
spirit of the Romantic period (an argument that might be
true).
• Stanzas eight and nine continue with Shelley’s
beckoning of mourners. Stanza ten changes to
dialogue: his mother, Urania, holds the corpse of her
young poet son and realizes that some “dream has
loosened from his brain.” That is, something about his
mind is not dead although his body may be dead. The
body is visited by a series of Greek Goddesses, who
take three or four stanzas to prepare the corpse for the
afterlife; Keats deserves it.
• Even nature is mourning the loss, where things like the
ocean, winds, and echoes are stopping to pay their respects. As
the seasons come and go, the persona is feeling no better. By
stanza twenty, the persona finally perceives a separation
between the corpse and the spirit, one going to fertilize new
life in nature, the other persisting to inspire aesthetic beauty.
This is when Urania awakens from her own dejected sleep and
takes flight across the land, taunting death to “meet her” but
realizing she is “chained to time” and cannot be with her
beloved son, so she is again left feeling hopeless and dejected.
She acknowledges her son’s “defenselessness” against the
“herded wolves” of mankind but then compares him to Apollo,
suggesting he will have more inspiration in death than he
would have in life.
• The persona then describes the death of Keats with
scorn for those he thinks is responsible. Keats visits his
mother as a ghost whom she does not recognize. The
persona calls for Keats to be remembered for his work
and not the age of his death, and Shelley takes an
unusual religious tone as he places Keats as a soul in
the heavens, looking down upon earth. Shelley
contends that Keats, in death, is more “alive” than the
common man will ever be, and he can now exist
peacefully, safe from the evils of men and their
criticisms.
• In stanza forty-one, the poem takes a major shift. The
narrator begins to rejoice, becoming aware that the young
Adonis is alive (in spirit) and will live on forever. We see the
Romantic notion that he is now “one with nature,” and just as
other young poets who have died (Shelley lists them), their
spirits all live on in the inspiration we draw from their work
and short lives. Even so, Keats is a head above the rest.
Completely turning on his original position, the speaker now
calls upon anyone who mourns for Adonis as a “wretch,”
arguing that his spirit is immortal, making him as permanent as
the great city of Rome. Shelley ends the poem wondering
about his own fate, when he will die, and if he will be mourned
and remembered with such respect as he is giving Keats.
• Taken as a whole, then, “Adonais” expresses the many stages of
grieving. John Keats died in Rome on February 23, 1821. Not
long afterward, Shelley wrote the poem. Such a recovery through
poetry is somewhat surprising given its speed, but we do not have
to see this poem as more than aspirational, a hope that this is
somehow the way Keats has ended up and the way that those left
behind will reconcile themselves to his loss. Instead of taking up
these issues directly, Shelley chooses allusion and allegory going
back to ancient myth in order to express his sorrow for the loss of
his friend and to implore the rest of the world to never forget the
work of the young bard. The use of ancient mythology suggests
that Shelley sees Keats as a truly majestic figure, as the rest of the
poem demonstrates.
• While Urania is in mourning for the loss of her son, he visits her
in spirit form (see lines 296-311). This makes Keats Christlike
(with “ensanguined brow”) and makes Urania a kind of grieving
Virgin Mary. After Urania does not recognize him, the speaker
begins to realize that his beloved Adonis “is not dead” (line 343).
This is not just a Christian metaphor of resurrection; it also
employs a Platonic idea that all forms of the good emanate from
the absolute good. As an example of the good and the beautiful,
Keats partakes in the eternal and therefore never dies (see line
340). This is the realization that causes the speaker to rejoice and
change his view from sadness to optimism, and the speaker now
begins to immortalize Keats in many different forms. “He is made
one with Nature,” and he “bursts” in beauty—from trees to beasts
to men to Heaven.
• Finally, the poet almost dares the reader, if he is still mourning,
to join him in his newfound vision of immortality in mutated form
(lines 415-23). He alludes to the city of Rome as “the grave, the
city, and the wilderness,” where mourning is “dull time.” That is,
if you do not quit this mourning, you risk finding yourself in your
own tomb (lines 455-59).
Ultimately, Shelley concedes the passing of his friend because he
accepts the idea that Keats’ “light” will continue to “kindle” the
inspiration of the universe. So long as we never forget the power
of Adonis’ spiritual resurrection, he will forever remain. The
poet’s “breath,” in the “light” that shall guide Shelley throughout
the rest of his life (Shelley died not long afterward, in 1822).
 style:
ELEGY ALLUSION

CONSTRUCTION
• Shelley's poem is a pastoral elegy, a poem of mourning
that relies on nature imagery to honor the dead.
• Adonais is Shelley’s elegy on the death of John Keats.
E
Keats died in Rome, aged twenty-five, on 23rd February
1821, of tuberculosis. Shelley got the impression that L
Keats’s death had been hastened by the brutal attacks of
an anonymous reviewer in the “Quarterly Review on his E
poetry. Shelley came to know the true facts of Keats’s
death only when he had finished writing Adonais which G
he called “the image of my regret and honour for poor
Keats”. Y
 A
• It also features classical allusions (i.e., allusions to
the mythologies and histories of Ancient Greece and
LL
Rome).
• Adonais, in Greek mythology, was a beautiful young
U
man. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, fell in love with
him. He was killed by a wild boar while hunting.
S
Aphrodite’s grief over his death was so great that
Zeus (the chief god) allowed him to spend six months I
in the year with her.
O
N
• Aphrodite was worshipped in Greece both as Aphrodite
A
Urania (the goddess of the sky) and as Aphrodite
Pandemos, (the goddess of all the people, or goddess of
LL
marriage and family life). Later the distinction acquired a
new meaning: Aphrodite Urania became that goddess of
U
higher and purer love; Aphrodite Pandemos, the goddess
of sexual lust. Shelley in this poem changes the spelling
S
of “Adonis” to “Adonais”, and he makes Urania the
mother of Adonais, not his beloved, in order to keep out
I
the erotic element from his elegy.
O
N
• In writing this poem, Shelley makes use of two Greek poems in
A
the pastoral tradition of Theocritus (who was a great Greek pastoral
poet of the third century B.C.). The first is the “Elegy of Adonis LL
U
written by Bion, a pastoral poet of the first century B.C., who was an
imitator of Theocritus. Shelley at times copies Bion’s lament for
Adonis closely, particularly in the opening.
• The second Greek poem in the Elegy for Bion, written by Moschus
—he was also a pastoral poet and had been a pupil of Bion. Moschus S
I
wrote an elegy on the premature death of Bion.
• In this elegy, Bion is alleged to have been cruelly poisoned by an
unknown hand.
• Shelley’s Adonais has been acclaimed as one of the greatest English
elegies. O
N
CONSTRUCTION
• Shelley uses 55 Spenserian stanzas constructed of
nine lines each and arranged in an ababbcbcc
rhyme scheme. This means that lines 1 and 3 of
each stanza rhyme with each other, lines 2, 4, 5,
and 7 rhyme with each other, and lines 6, 8, and 9
rhyme with each other. That's a lot of numbers that
all boils down to one thing: poetic artistry!
 ADONAIs
An Elegy on the Death of John Keats
BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

I
      
I weep for Adonais—he is dead! (a)
       Oh, weep for Adonais! though our tears (b)
       Thaw not the frost which binds so dear a head! (a)
       And thou, sad Hour, selected from all years (b)
       To mourn our loss, rouse thy obscure compeers, (b)
       And teach them thine own sorrow, say: "With me (c)
       Died Adonais; till the Future dares (b)
       Forget the Past, his fate and fame shall be (c)
An echo and a light unto eternity!“ (c)
 THEMES:
Art and
immortality
culture

Man and the natural

world
 immortality
• Death has taken Adonais, the beautiful youth who represents
Keats, before the poem's beginning. It's not all doom and
gloom, though. Shelley doesn't necessarily think that death is
the end, especially not for a youth so beautiful and pure. Is it
possible that the youth lives on somewhere else? What does
this life after death look like? Adonais explores several
theories about just what happens after mortal death, and comes
to a pretty comforting conclusion.
 Art and culture
• Though ostensibly about the death of a character from Greek
mythology, Adonais is actually an elegy for a young poet who died
at the height of his career. According to Shelley, he was killed by
unfair criticism and a lack of appreciation for literary talents.
Throughout the poem, Shelley begs us to appreciate those that use
"higher" thought to create masterpieces of literature and poetry, and
admonishes those that dismiss these artists and their work. To
Shelley, there is no honor higher than to be a great poet, full of lofty
thoughts and artistic talent.
 man and the natural world
• Rather than being the caretakers of nature, the speaker
in Adonais believes that nature is part of a greater spirit that
includes mankind. The elements of nature show up to mourn
Adonais, and are given human characteristics as part of their
mourning. Nature is also a source of comfort for the speaker,
who finds solace in its beauty. Throughout the poem, the
natural world is shown as a sympathetic, positive place, at
peace with mankind.
CONCLUSION
• Shelley wrote this long poem as an elegy for Shelley’s close friend
and fellow poet John Keats, who died in Rome of tuberculosis at
the age of 26. The mood of the poem begins in dejection, but ends
in optimism—hoping Keats’ spark of brilliance reverberates
through the generations of future poets and inspires revolutionary
change throughout Europe. Adonis is the stand-in for Keats, for he
too died at a young age after being mauled by a boar. In Shelley’s
version, the “beast” responsible for Keats’s death is the literary
critic, specifically one from London’s Quarterly who gave a
scathing review of Keats’ poem “Endymion” (Shelley was unaware
of the true cause of Keats’s death).
CONCLUSION
• Urania (also known as “Venus” or “Aphrodite”), who is
Adonis’ lover in the myth, is rewritten here as the
young man’s mother (possibly because Keats had no
lover at the time of his death). In a sense, Keats is not
dead, for like other great poets, he lives within those
who benefited from his life and poetry, and he is alive
because he is “one with Nature.” He is even Christlike,
a divinity among the best of poets. Even so, he died too
soon. In death, he beacons the living to join him in
eternity.
 SOMEDAY, you’RE
GOING TO DIE. Who
do you want to be
remembered?
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!
FREE RESOURCE PAGE
FREE RESOURCE PAGE