Despair by Percy Bysshe Shelley
The speaker addresses the indifferent moon and nature, questioning their calm amidst his internal agony. He hears music that briefly soothes him before intensifying his torment, prompting him to summon storm spirits to destroy his life or the earth. Convinced all ties are dead and hope is lost, he accepts his fate and invites hellish spirits to mock his pain.
By Percy Bysshe Shelley · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Melancholic Poetry · 433 words
First lines
And canst thou mock mine agony, thus calm / In cloudless radiance, Queen of silver night? / Can you, ye flow'rets, spread your perfumed balm / Mid pearly gems of dew that shine so bright? / And you wild winds, thus can you sleep so still / Whilst throbs the tempest of my breast so high? / Can the fierce night-fiends rest on yonder hill, / And, in the eternal mansions of the sky, / Can the directors of the storm in powerless silence lie?
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — Four rhymed stanzas convey a speaker's agony through direct addresses to the moon, flowers, winds, storm spirits, and Fate.
- Melancholic Poetry — Music offers only temporary relief, and the speaker declares hope, peace, joy, and every earthly tie lost.
Tags
nature · storm · lyric · romanticism · gothic · apostrophe · melancholy
What this Textopian page supports
Despair 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: Lyric Poetry, Melancholic Poetry
- Length: 433 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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- Work identity for Despair by Percy Bysshe Shelley
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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