Percy Bysshe Shelley Research Paper

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Recommended: Short note on the changing English society in the romantic age

Pamela Garcia
Ms. Peckins
English 10, Period 2
15 April 2014
Percy Bysshe Shelley And His Contributions To The Romantic Period Percy Bysshe Shelley had a strong, disapproving voice. The prominent English Romantic poet’s works were based on his beliefs. Born on August 4, 1792 to Timothy and Elizabeth Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley was the eldest among five. Many see Shelley as an exceptional English poet. It is believed that “one of the branches of his family is a representative of the house of the illustrious Sir Philip Sidney of Penshurst” (London Metropolitan Conservative Journal 6). Percy Shelley delightfully accepted the fact that he had this connection with one of his relatives. Ever since his days of youth, Shelley showed a sign …show more content…

At the age of twelve, he began to attend Eton College where his love for literature began to grow. Percy Bysshe Shelley was not “very orthodox at Oxford” (London Metropolitan Conservative Journal 6). Shelley’s works implied the fact that he denied the existence of God. His classmates gave him epithets such as “Shelley the atheist” and “Mad Shelley”. Shelley came to the conclusion that “there is no God” (London Metropolitan Conservative Journal 6). When Percy Bysshe Shelley claimed to be an atheist, he was expelled from Eton College. His father was offended with this and treated him harshly afterwards. This experience inspired Percy to write a pamphlet called The Necessity of Atheism. At the age of sixteen, he moved to a University College, …show more content…

On December 1816, Percy’s first wife, Harriet, drowned herself in Hyde Park. On December 30th 1816, just two weeks after Harriet’s body was discovered, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin married each other(Metropolitan Conservative Journal 6). They planned to get married so Percy could keep the custody of his children. Their plan failed; Percy’s children were given up to foster parents because Percy Bysshe Shelley believed in atheism. The Shelley’s took up residence in Moscow, Buckinghamshire, where one of Percy’s friend’s lived, Thomas Love Peacock. Percy took on a literary circle that surrounded Leigh Hunt, during this period he met John Keats. Shelley's major work during this time included Laon and Cythna. In this lengthy, sequential poem Percy attacked religion and included two incestuous lovers. It was quickly taken down after it was

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