Arethusa by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Arethusa descends from the Acroceraunian mountains, pursued by the river-god Alpheus. The Ocean opens at her plea, but Alpheus follows her underwater to their Dorian home. They thereafter flow down one valley from fountains in Enna's mountains and rest at night beneath the Ortygian shore.
By Percy Bysshe Shelley · Genre: Mythological Poetry, Narrative Poetry · 746 words
First lines
1.
Arethusa arose / From her couch of snows / In the Acroceraunian mountains,- / From cloud and from crag, / With many a jag, / Shepherding her bright fountains. / She leapt down the rocks, / With her rainbow locks / Streaming among the streams; - / Her steps paved with green / The downward ravine / Which slopes to the western gleams; / And gliding and springing / She went, ever singing, / In murmurs as soft as sleep; / The Earth seemed to love her, / And Heaven smiled above her, / As she lingered towards the deep.
Genres
- Mythological Poetry — A nymph flees a river-god, and the Ocean answers her prayer by opening a passage into its depths.
- Narrative Poetry — Five rhymed stanzas follow Arethusa's descent, Alpheus's pursuit, their underwater passage, and their subsequent daily course.
Tags
Greek mythology · rivers · pursuit · underwater journey · fountains
What this Textopian page supports
Arethusa is listed on Textopian as a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Percy Bysshe Shelley
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Mythological Poetry, Narrative Poetry
- Length: 746 words
- Structure: 1 section, 10 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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