The Poems of Shelley: Volume One: 1804-1817

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) was a major Romantic poet who wrote some of the finest lyric poetry in the English language. This first volume of the five-volume The Poems of Shelley presents all of Shelley's poems in chronological order, with full annotation and personal, literary, historical, and scientific information. It includes the Esdaile poems, Queen Mab, Alastor, and the Scrope Davies notebook, which provides new datings, corrections to long-established errors, and alternative versions of important poems. The volumes of The Poems of Shelley form the most comprehensive edition of Shelley's poetry available to students and scholars.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 642 pages
Publication date: 21 January 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) was a prominent Romantic poet who is widely acclaimed for his exceptional lyrical poetry, considered to be among the finest in the English language. This first volume of the five-volume The Poems of Shelley presents all of Shelley's poems in chronological order, accompanied by comprehensive annotations that offer insights into their composition, date, and historical context. Extensive examinations and assessments of manuscript and printed sources have been conducted to establish an authoritative text for each poem. Headnotes and footnotes provide valuable personal, literary, historical, and scientific information to enhance the reader's understanding of Shelley's diverse and allusive verse.

The present volume includes the Esdaile poems, which were only made accessible to the public in the 1950s and are now printed in chronological order, seamlessly integrating with Shelley's early output. Additionally, it features Queen Mab, Shelley's first major poem, along with extensive prose notes. The seminal Alastor volume provides a detailed context for Shelley's overall poetic development. The 'Scrope Davies notebook, discovered in 1976, reveals two previously unknown sonnets and alternative versions of "Hymn to Intellectual Beauty" and "Mont Blanc," which significantly enrich our understanding of these important poems.

This first volume introduces new dating and rectifies numerous longstanding errors and misunderstandings in the transmission of Shelley's work. The annotations and headnotes offer fresh perspectives on Shelley's literary, philosophical, and political development, making the volumes of The Poems of Shelley the most comprehensive edition of Shelley's poetry available to students and scholars.

Weight: 1190g
Dimension: 216 x 138 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032478050