Percy Shelley Impact On Society

Percy Shelley was born on August 4th, 1792 to his parents Timothy and Elizabeth Shelley. Even though he lived in a very conservative household, he had a very radical nonconformist attitude. He was sent to Syon House Academy and Eton College, during which he was subjected to bullying and scoffed at for his beliefs. He later went to Oxford, where he stayed for less than a year before being expelled for his publishings (“Percy Bysshe Shelley 1792-1822.” poetryfoundation.org). Despite being against the idea of marriage, he married a woman by the name of Harriet Westbrook, and later a woman named Mary, who became famous for her novel titled Frankenstein (“Percy Bysshe Shelley.” poets.org). He was disowned by his family, but still continued to write and publish what he believed was right. He had a lasting impact on British literature because of his unconventional way of thinking, his love for nature and humanity, and his

He believed his school bullies and school masters represented man’s general inhumanity towards their fellow man. Several of his works state the tyranny of religion and the oppressive government has on the population, including one of his works “The Masque of Anarchy”. He was also a big animal rights activist, believing that animals were being treated wrongfully treated and slaughtered, which is why he promoted vegetarianism and a natural diet in many of his works. He supported the lower classes, and believing they were taken advantage of, and he was determined to inspire them. He encouraged his followers to throw off those who oppress them such as the royal courts, churches, government systems, and legal courts, and to rebel against social normality. His peaceful approach to his defiance inspired many passive resistances of leaders such as Ghandi, Karl Marx, and Upton Sinclair (“Percy Bysshe Shelley.”