English Men of Letters

EDITED BY JOHN MORLEY

SHELLEY

SHELLEY

BY
JOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS

MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON
1909

First Edition October 1878
Reprinted October 1878, 1879, 1881, 1884,
with many corrections, 1887, 1895, 1902, 1909
Library Edition 1902, 1907
Pocket Edition 1909

[Pg v]

PREFACE.

This sketch of Shelley’s life was written in the summer of 1878. Sincethen Professor Dowden’s Life of Percy Bysshe Shelley (2 vols., KeganPaul, Trench, and Co., 1886) has been given to the world. In thatexhaustive work many important documents belonging to the poet’s heirshave been freely used for the first time. Professor Dowden has thus beenable to elucidate some hitherto obscure points in Shelley’s history, andto settle several doubtful questions. It is not probable that much morewill be added in the future to our knowledge of his life.

Upon the appearance of Professor Dowden’s biography, I was anxious torewrite those portions of my book which required modification by the lightof authentic papers now at length communicated to the public. Myreferences to the Shelley archives (pp. 81 and 83) in particular requiredcorrection.

This, however, would have involved a disproportionate derangement of thestereotype plates. I am therefore obliged to content myself with minoralterations. These are of three kinds. In the[Pg vi] present volume I haveintroduced such verbal changes as could be made upon the plates. I havealso enclosed some passages in brackets, indicating thereby that I shouldprefer to omit these altogether. Finally, I have recast the narrative ofShelley’s separation from his first wife (pp. 79-83), and have placed thisin an Appendix, to which I earnestly call the attention of my readers.

JOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS.

Davos Platz, February 1887.

[Pg vii]

CONTENTS.