Sonnet to Byron by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Addressing Byron, the speaker says that esteem preserves his pleasure in Byron's creations against envy. Byron's power and fame cause no regret over the speaker's own unhonoured name, and he offers homage through the image of a worm lifting itself before a god.
By Percy Bysshe Shelley · Genre: Sonnet, Literary Tribute · 174 words
First lines
[I am afraid these verses will not please you, but] / If I esteemed you less, Envy would kill / Pleasure, and leave to Wonder and Despair / The ministration of the thoughts that fill / The mind which, like a worm whose life may share / A portion of the unapproachable, / Marks your creations rise as fast and fair / As perfect worlds at the Creator's will.
But such is my regard that nor your power / To soar above the heights where others [climb], / Nor fame, that shadow of the unborn hour / Cast from the envious future on the time, / Move one regret for his unhonoured name / Who dares these words: -the worm beneath the sod / May lift itself in homage of the God.
Genres
- Sonnet — The rhymed address turns from the possibility of envy to a closing declaration of homage.
- Literary Tribute — The speaker expresses regard for Byron's creations and poetic power while acknowledging his own unhonoured name.
Tags
poetic creation · admiration · envy · fame · homage · sonnet
What this Textopian page supports
Sonnet to Byron 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: Sonnet, Literary Tribute
- Length: 174 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Difficult (College Level)
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