Percy Bysshe Shelley

Explore 20 quotes by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Ozymandias

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Topic

Arrogance Hubris

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

Ozymandias

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1818 1810s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Ozymandias." The Examiner. London: Leigh Hunt and John Hunt, 11 Jan. 1818, l. 11.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Ozymandias." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, I. 11.

"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.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Ozymandias

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Topic

Arrogance

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

Ozymandias

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1818 1810s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Ozymandias." The Examiner. London: Leigh Hunt and John Hunt, 11 Jan. 1818, l. 10.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Ozymandias." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, I. 10.

Nought may endure but Mutability.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

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Topic

The only constant is change Impermanence Change

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

Mutability

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1816 1810s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Mutability." Alastor, or The Spirit of Solitude: And Other Poems. London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816, I. 16.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Mutability." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, I. 16.

She faded, like a cloud which had outwept its rain.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

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Read Adonais at Project Gutenberg

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Topic

Clouds

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

Adonais

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

English

Time

1821 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats, Author of Endymion, Hyperion, etc. London: Charles Ollier, 1821, st. 10, I. 9.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Adonais." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, st. 10, I. 9.

Away, away, from men and towns,
To the wild wood and the downs.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

To Jane: The Invitation

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Read To Jane: the Invitation at bartleby.com

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Topic

Escape to nature Rural vs. urban

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

To Jane: The Invitation

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1822 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "The Pine Forest of the Cascine near Pisa." Posthumous Poems. London: John and Henry L. Hunt, 1824, I. 21.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "To Jane. The Invitation." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, I. 21.

My soul is an enchanted boat,
Which, like a sleeping swan, doth float
Upon the silver waves of thy sweet singing.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Prometheus Unbound

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Topic

Infatuation Being in love

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

Prometheus Unbound

Medium

Play

Language

English

Time

1820 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Prometheus Unbound." Prometheus Unbound: A Lyrical Drama in Four Acts with Other Poems. London: Charles and James Ollier, 1820, act 2, sc. 5.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Prometheus Unbound." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, act 2, sc. 5.

I see the waves upon the shore,
Like light dissolved in star-showers, thrown.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples

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Topic

Waves Shore Nature scene

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1824 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples." Posthumous Poems. London: John and Henry L. Hunt, 1824, I. 11.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Stanzas Written in Dejection-December 1818, near Naples." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, I. 11.

The fountains mingle with the river,
And the rivers with the Ocean,
The winds of Heaven mix for ever
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
In one spirit meet and mingle.
Why not I with thine?

Percy Bysshe Shelley

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Read Love's Philosophy at Project Gutenberg

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Topic

Interconnectedness of all things Connecting with others

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

Love's Philosophy

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1819 1810s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Love's Philosophy." The Indicator. London: J. Appleyard, 22 Dec. 1819, I. 1.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Love's Philosophy." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, I. 1.

A traveller from the cradle to the grave
Through the dim night of this immortal day.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Prometheus Unbound

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Topic

The human condition

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

Prometheus Unbound

Medium

Play

Language

English

Time

1820 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Prometheus Unbound." Prometheus Unbound: A Lyrical Drama in Four Acts with Other Poems. London: Charles and James Ollier, 1820, act 4, sc. 1.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Prometheus Unbound." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, act 4, sc. 1.

That orbed maiden with white fire laden,
Whom mortals call the Moon.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

The Cloud

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Topic

The moon

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

The Cloud

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1820 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "The Cloud." Prometheus Unbound, A Lyrical Drama, in Four Acts, With Other Poems. London: Charles and James Ollier, 1820, I. 45.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "The Cloud." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, I. 45.

Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

A Defense of Poetry

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Topic

Poetry Politics is downstream of culture

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

A Defense of Poetry

Language

English

Time

1822 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "A Defence of Poetry." Essays, Letters from Abroad, Translations and Fragments. Vol. 1. London: Edward Moxon, 1840.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "A Defence of Poetry." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009.

Hell is a city much like London—
A populous and a smoky city.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

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Read Peter Bell the Third at Project Gutenberg

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Topic

London Hell

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

Peter Bell the Third

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1822 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Peter Bell the Third." The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. London: Edward Moxon, 1839, pt. 3, st. 1.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Peter Bell the Third." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, pt. 3, st. 1.

I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

The Cloud

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Topic

Rain Flowers

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

The Cloud

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1820 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "The Cloud." Prometheus Unbound, A Lyrical Drama, in Four Acts, With Other Poems. London: Charles and James Ollier, 1820, I. 1.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "The Cloud." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, I. 1.

I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
And the nursling of the Sky.
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
I change, but I cannot die.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

The Cloud

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Topic

Clouds

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

The Cloud

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1820 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "The Cloud." Prometheus Unbound, A Lyrical Drama, in Four Acts, With Other Poems. London: Charles and James Ollier, 1820, I. 73.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "The Cloud." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, I. 73.

Let there be light! said Liberty,
And like sunrise from the sea,
Athens arose!

Percy Bysshe Shelley

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Read Hellas at Project Gutenberg

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Topic

Athens

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

Hellas

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1822 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. Hellas: A Lyrical Drama. London: Charles and James Ollier, 1822, I. 682.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Hellas." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, I. 682.

Alas! I have nor hope nor health,
Nor peace within nor calm around,
Nor that content surpassing wealth
The sage in meditation found.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples

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Topic

Meditation

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1824 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples." Posthumous Poems. London: John and Henry L. Hunt, 1824, I. 18.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Stanzas Written in Dejection-December 1818, near Naples." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, I. 18.

We look before and after,
And pine for what is not:
Our sincerest laughter
With some pain is fraught;
Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

To a Skylark

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Topic

Melancholy Yin and yang

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

To a Skylark

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1820 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "To a Skylark." Prometheus Unbound, A Lyrical Drama, in Four Acts, With Other Poems. London: Charles and James Ollier, 1820, I. 88.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "To a Skylark." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, I. 88.

Power, like a desolating pestilence,
Pollutes whate'er it touches; and obedience,
Bane of all genius, virtue, freedom, truth,
Makes slaves of men, and, of the human frame,
A mechanized automation.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Queen Mab

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Topic

Nature of power Power relations Power

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

Queen Mab

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1813 1810s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. Queen Mab; A Philosophical Poem; With Notes. London, 1813, pt. 3.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Queen Mab." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, pt. 3.

London, that great sea, whose ebb and flow
At once is deaf and loud, and on the shore
Vomits its wrecks, and still howls on for more.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

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Read Letter to Maria Gisborne at Project Gutenberg

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Topic

London

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

Letter to Maria Gisborne

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1822 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Letter to Maria Gisborne." Posthumous Poems. London: John and Henry L. Hunt, 1824, I. 193.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Letter to Maria Gisborne." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, I. 193.

Sun-girt city, thou hast been
Ocean's child, and then his queen;
Now is come a darker day,
And thou soon must be his prey.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

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Read Lines written among the Euganean Hills at Project Gutenberg

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Topic

Venice Cities

Speaker

On Venice.

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

Lines written amongst the Euganean Hills

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1819 1810s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Lines Written among the Euganean Hills." Rosalind and Helen, A Modern Eclogue; With Other Poems. London: Charles and James Ollier, 1819, I. 115.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Lines Written among the Euganean Hills." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, I. 115.