Percy Bysshe Shelley Books

Shelley's The Cenci is just one of many tellings of a true story that captures the imagination and the heart of almost everybody who hears of it. The story has been retold in many novels, even in opera.

It is the tale of the lovely and innocent Beatrice Cenci, who in late 16th century Rome was molested by a corrupt and powerful father, Count Francesco Cenci. Her father was so well-connected that there was no one, not even the Pope, to whom she could turn for protection. So, with the help of her mother and her brother, she seeks the ultimate revenge and pays the price.

Shelley's poetic drama is considered one of the best works of his short life. His treatment is more Shakespearean than poetic, but without the immortal bard's light comic touches. The Cenci is true tragedy through and through with a poetic touch that will capture the soul of the reader. I found myself reading passages aloud to myself to both hear the dramatic content and to better understand the meaning of dialogs broken into lines of poetry. This is not an easy book to read, both for its subject and its writing style, yet the reward is well worth the effort. Some of Shelley's greatest lines are in this work. Here is a brief segment from the 5th Act of Beatrice's words in contemplating her fate:

Oh, trample out that thought! Worse than Despair,
Worse than the bitterness of death, is hope;
It is the only ill which can find place
Upon the giddy, sharp and narrow hour
Tottering beneath us. Plead with the swift frost
That it should spare the eldest flower of spring;
Plead with awakening earthquake, o'er whose couch
Even now a city stands, strong, fair, and free;
Now stench and blackness yawn, like death. Oh, plead
with famine, or wind-walking Pestilence,
Blind lightning, or the deaf sea, not with man!
Cruel, cold, formal man; righteous in words,
In deeds a Cain.

When I discovered Shelley at the age of 15, a whole world opened up for me. I had no idea that poetry could be so passionate, so beautiful and so intensely felt. Shelley puts himself totally into his poetry, and when you read it you enter the mind of one the most original and intellectual poets of the nineteenth century. the way to read Shelley is to let yourself luxuriate in his imagery and above all not to treat him with detachment. Shelley's power and joy in life and his struggle against the oppression of the poor are truly inspirational. But read it, don't take my word for it.

Although better known for his poetry, Percy Shelley is a thought provoking author of prose, as well. The book contains over 35 essays reflecting Shelley's views on such topics as religion, life, capital punishment,love, and freedom. His views on God and religion are particularly astute and would interest anyone who has wrestled with his/her own faith.

I love this book. Shelley is one of the best poets of the romantic period, and this book has everything down to the fragments of unfinished poems and translations he did of other works. I cherish this book, if my house where to catch fire and I could only save one item, this would be it.

Long time fans of the "haunted summer" of 1816 will love this book, out of print but well worth the trouble to track down. The author craftfully uses journals and letters to support a believable and captivating storyline. If you liked the movies on this subject - Gothic, Rowing with the Wind, the (terrible) Frankenstein Unbound, and especially the same-titled 1988 film, you'll love this book.

In the third and second acts of Prometheus Unbound, foundation of a new order meets the audience. But just before it, in the first scene of Act III, Shelley makes the audience see the situational irony between Jupiter's initial pride of his omnipotence and his ultimate collapse. This first scene of the third act reminds me of Shakespeare's Richard II. As you remember, just like Jupiter, Richard is proud of his power and authority at the first acts of the play. His pride has made him that much tyrannical and merciless. And again like Jupiter, he loses the throne and his power. The remarkable common thing between them is that both have had tyrannical power which seems eternal to both, and both have accepted the defeat without any struggle, and just leave full of sorrow and anger. For instance, Demogorgon tells Jupiter to "put forth [his] might" if he wishes "as `tis the destiny of trodden worms to writhe till they are dead" (III.i.59-61). However, Jupiter, just like Richard, accepts the defeat with despair, pain and anger:
"...The elements obey me not...I sink...
Dizzily down-ever, forever, down-
..." (III.i.80-81)
Isn't it confusing for you, too, that such a powerful tyrant like Jupiter accepts the defeat that much easily?
From the second scene of Act III on, a preparation for a new order among the supernatural powers of the universe and an air of festivity (in a quite utopic way) dominate the play. Prometheus almost steps aside and lets us see the joy of the universe. As the original Greek legend requires, Hercules "unbinds" Prometheus in the third scene of Act III. And Prometheus makes his long speech which points out the crucial qualities of the new order. He describes "a Cave / All overgrown with trailing odorous plants / ... / And paved with veined emerald, and a fountain..." (III.iii.10-13). In this cave, there will be music, harmony, lovely thoughts; moreover, the man will bring reason, reality and, specifically art such as painting, sculpture and poesy as "man grows wise and kind" (III.iii.61). Indeed Prometheus' this speech is almost like a synopsis of the rest of the play in terms of both content and style. In the rest of the play, other characters come forward and describe the joyfulness of the coming order by comparing it with the pain and sorrow of the past days. And each of them, just like Prometheus has done, points out the main concepts of the new order such as time and change, love, wisdom, tolerance, happiness, art, science, harmony and power. They suggest that the wisdom of the mankind and love will rule the universe and this will bring happiness and harmony. And this content of their suggestion is supported by their common style. This common style bears the fanciful and elaborated images of nature, which reminds me of Coleridge's images in "Kubla Khan". For instance, The Earth describes the results of the new order with the following words, "...My cloven fire-crags, sound exulting fountains / Laugh with a vast and inextinguishable laughter" (IV. 333-334). Isn't it Shelley's laughing fountains similar with Coleridge's "dancing rocks" (line 23) in Kubla Khan?
And finally, as Prometheus says in his speech, "What can hide man from Mutability?" (III.iii.25). Shelley suggests that "All living things are subject to `Fate, Time, Occasion, Chance and Change". But I don't think that in this statement Shelley "poses as a hopeless fatalist". I think he emphasizes that in the universe there is a constant change in parallel with the flow of time. And Fate, Occasion and Chance are the other factors that structure the course of this change. In the play, we see that the tyrannical order of Jupiter has changed just like Saturn's order has changed before the order of Jupiter. It is true that the role of chance and fate bring a fatalist perspective but the constant possibility of change certainly brings hope. And we know for sure that the new order that Prometheus has brought will have the possibility of change. As Bacon suggests, time is the greatest innovator and every innovative thing is always under the threat of becoming conservative.

Beginners and Shelley experts alike will find this book useful. Höhne is an excellent Shelley specialist. The book is a slightly revised translation of his Shelley biography (Percy Bysshe Shelley. Leben und Werk).

Alexander the Great, was born on or around July 20, 356 B.C.E., and is my favorite personality to read about in history. To me he is the whole package general, statesman, conqueror, and philosopher. The smartest man who ever lived, Aristotle, tutored him. Alexander conquered more of the known world than any other figure in history, accomplishing all this before he dies at the ripe old age of 33. Some people called him conqueror and violent overlord. Some other called him civilizer and even God! All of them yet, called him "The Great". He was the first man in modern history that took this name, "The Great"! Even as a young boy, he shows great promise.

Diodorus a Greek historian who lived from 80-20 BCE wrote 40 books of world history. He is an uncritical compiler who used good sources and produced them faithfully. His work is one of the oldest works available and is based on eyewitness accounts. He does a better job than most in explaining the battle scenes, and seems to be more balanced in his admiration and criticism of Alexander then any of the other early biographers. I love his Bucephalus Story, and I recount it here so you get a flavor of the promise this young Alexander shows.

The legend begins with Philoneicus, a Thessalian, bringing a wild horse to Philip for him to buy. None of the hands was able to handle it, and Philip grew upset at Philoneicus for bringing such an unstable horse to him. Alexander, however, publicly defied his father and claimed that he could handle the horse. The bet between Philip and Alexander was that if Alexander could ride the horse, Philip would buy it, if not, Alexander would have to pay the price of the horse, which was 13 talents, an enormous sum for a boy of Alexander's age to have.

Alexander apparently noticed that the horse had been shying away from its own shadow, and so he led it gently into the sun, so that its shadow was behind it, all the while stroking it gently and whispering into its ear, (Alexander seems to be the original horse whisperer). Eventually the horse let Alexander mount him, and Alexander was able to show his equestrian skill to his father and all who were watching. The incident so impressed Alexander's father, King Philip that he told the boy "Look thee out a kingdom equal to and worthy of you, for Macedonia is too little for thee". He named the horse Bucephalus, which means Ox head, and rode it across Asia, founding a city in its honor in India after its death. This story gives you an inkling about the man.

This book is a necessary read for students of Alexander, I also recommend Plutarch's and Arrian's work, and from contemporary writers, J. F. C. Fuller and Tarn. Most of Alexander's greatest military traits are in the area of military logistics and to understand his genius in this area I highly recommend reading, "Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army," by Donald W. Engels.

As a retired U. S. Army Major, I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in ancient warfare, and history.

I thoroughly enjoyed this tape. Beautiful poetry read by beautiful voices. It's wonderful for playing in the car on long journeys, it could even be the perfect antidote to road rage. Very relaxing.

In his short life (1792-1822) Percy Bysshe Shelley created a wide range of poetry marked by eloquence, sensuality, and imagination. This small book, Shelley - Lyrical Visionary, offers a small, well-selected sampling of some 20 shorter poems and extracts from eight longer poems. There are no footnotes.

Example shorter poems include Lines Written on Hearing the News of the Death of Napoleon, A Summer-Evening Churchyard, To Wordsworth, Hymn to Intellectual Beauty, To the Lord Chancellor, Ozymandias, The Woodman and the Nightingale, Ode to The Westwind, Autumn, and Ode to Liberty.

The eight extracts come from Queen Mab, The Revolt of Islam, Prometheus Unbound, The Cloud, To a Skylark, Adonais, Epipschydion, and Sonnets from the Greek of Moschus.

What distinguishes this anthology, Shelley - Lyrical Visionary, is the accompanying rich illustrations that complement and enhance the individual poems. The reproductions are high quality and printed on glossy white and tinted pages. This book, as does others in this Illustrated Poetry Anthology series, makes an ideal gift. (The list price is too expensive. I have found these books at much lower prices.)

Consideration: This particular volume may be more suitable for readers already familiar with the English Romantics. In my experience Shelley's lyrics are not as immediately accessible as the poetry of Keats, Wordsworth, Byron, and Coleridge, and may even be intimidating. As an alternative, I recommend another book in this series: Keats - Truth and Imagination. (I am biased; Keats is my favorite poet, but I do believe that the poetry of Keats is somewhat easier for many readers.)