The Cenci by Percy Bysshe Shelley
After appeals for protection fail, Beatrice Cenci joins her stepmother Lucretia and brother Giacomo in a plot to kill her father, whose tyranny includes incestuous violence against her. Hired assassins strangle him at Petrella, and the family faces trial in Rome, where torture produces confessions. The Pope refuses clemency, and Beatrice prepares to die with Lucretia and Giacomo, bidding farewell to her brother Bernardo.
By Percy Bysshe Shelley · Genre: Tragedy, Dramatic Poetry · 7 chapters · 35,777 words
First lines
A Tragedy in Five Acts
Dedication, to Leigh Hunt, Esq
Genres
- Tragedy — Beatrice's attempt to escape her father's violence through his murder leads to prosecution, a death sentence, and a final farewell after clemency is refused.
- Dramatic Poetry — Five acts present the conspiracy, murder, trial, and prison farewells through verse speeches, dialogue, and stage directions.
Tags
family tyranny · incestuous violence · parricide · judicial torture · papal authority · verse drama
What this Textopian page supports
The Cenci is listed on Textopian as a play 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: Play
- Author: Percy Bysshe Shelley
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Tragedy, Dramatic Poetry
- Length: 35,777 words
- Structure: 7 chapters, 509 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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- Work identity for The Cenci by Percy Bysshe Shelley
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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