Selected Poetry and Prose

Critics and teachers of Shelley have tended to focus rather narrowly on his lyrics, and the width of his sensibility has not always been apparent. This edition seeks to place him more firmly in his intellectual and political context and to show the diversity of his work including his prose. A complete text of "The Defense of Poetry", a section of "A Philosophical View of Reform", and some shorter prose pieces give an indication of Shelley's ability to formulate views on a subject, and students are helped to see how the ideas in his poetry take shape. Shelley is accepted as a difficult poet and the notes seek to elucidate difficulties. The excitement and challenge offered by his work relate immediately to the central issues of our time and he is presented not as a fanciful or "ineffectual angel" but as a man trying to find coherence and hope in a period of vast change and uncertainty.