The Complete Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley Volume II
(1914) compiles some of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s best-known works
as a leading poet, playwright, and political thinker of the
nineteenth century. As a leading figure among the English
Romantics, Shelley was a master of poetic form and tradition who
recognized the need for radical change in the social order. His
work has influenced such writers and intellectuals as Karl Marx,
Mahatma Gandhi, W. B. Yeats, and George Bernard Shaw. In
“Ozymandias,” Shelley employs the language of archaeology to
mask one of the greatest political poems of all time. The sonnet
depicts a statue of an ancient king discovered in the Egyptian
desert. Barely visible above the shifting sand, its pedestal reads
“‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: / Look on my works, ye
Mighty, and despair!’” Juxtaposed with this language of
bluster, the three remaining lines dispel the myth of power with
expert precision: “Nothing beside remains. Round the decay / Of
that colossal wreck, boundless and bare / The lone and level sands
stretch far away.” For Shelley, who identifies with the knowing,
mischievous sculptor, the dominion of kings is nothing but hubris,
a grain of sand in the vast expanse of time. In “To a Skylark,”
Shelley immortalizes the song of a bird heard once and remembered
forever: “The blue deep thou wingest, / And singing still dost
soar, and soaring ever singest.” As he longs to know the bird in
order to mimic the celebratory nature of its song, Shelley reaches
an understanding of the human condition, the tragic temperament of
those who “look before and after, / And pine for what is not.”
Unlike the poet, who must struggle to achieve his song, the skylark
soars and sings and remains above the world of men, whose
“sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.” With a
beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript,
this edition of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s The Complete Poetical
Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley Volume II is a classic of English
literature reimagined for modern readers.
General
Imprint: |
Graphic Arts Books
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Series: |
Mint Editions |
Release date: |
April 2023 |
Authors: |
Percy Bysshe Shelley
|
Contributors: |
Mint Editions
|
Dimensions: |
203 x 127 x 21mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover
|
Pages: |
358 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-5132-0775-9 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
1-5132-0775-X |
Barcode: |
9781513207759 |
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