Adonais by Percy Bysshe Shelley
The speaker mourns Keats as Adonais, imagining Urania, his poetic creations and fellow poets lamenting him, while condemning hostile critics. Mourning turns toward consolation as the speaker declares Adonais's spirit united with nature and eternity. The poem ends with a vision of the speaker's spirit borne far from shore, guided by Adonais's soul like a star.
By Percy Bysshe Shelley · Genre: Elegy, Pastoral Poetry, Philosophical Poetry · 7,568 words
First lines
AN ELEGY ON THE DEATH OF JOHN KEATS, / AUTHOR OF ENDYMION, HYPERION, ETC.
Aster prin men elampes eni zooisin Eoos / nun de thanon lampeis Esperos en phthimenois. -PLATO.
Genres
- Elegy — The repeated lament for the dead Adonais develops into remembrance of his poetry and consolation concerning his enduring spirit.
- Pastoral Poetry — Adonais's thoughts appear as flocks he tended beside streams, and mountain shepherds arrive with damaged mantles and withered garlands to mourn.
- Philosophical Poetry — The speaker questions human existence and contrasts changing mortal life with an enduring unity into which Adonais's spirit has passed.
Tags
grief · mortality · poetic immortality · literary criticism · nature · consolation
What this Textopian page supports
Adonais is listed on Textopian as a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Percy Bysshe Shelley
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Elegy, Pastoral Poetry, Philosophical Poetry
- Length: 7,568 words
- Structure: 1 section, 119 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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- Work identity for Adonais by Percy Bysshe Shelley
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