The Triumph of Life by Percy Bysshe Shelley
In a waking vision, the narrator watches Life's chariot pass amid frenzied dancers and chained captives, then questions a disfigured figure who identifies himself as Rousseau. Rousseau recounts drinking from a radiant figure's cup, being swept into the procession, and watching its followers shed shadows as their strength and beauty fade. The account breaks off with a question about what life is.
By Percy Bysshe Shelley · Genre: Allegorical Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Philosophical Poetry · 6,155 words
First lines
Swift as a spirit hastening to his task / Of glory and of good, the Sun sprang forth / Rejoicing in his splendour, and the mask
Of darkness fell from the awakened Earth- / The smokeless altars of the mountain snows / Flamed above crimson clouds, and at the birth
Genres
- Allegorical Poetry — Life appears as a conqueror riding in a chariot, with rulers and thinkers chained to it and dancers crushed beneath its advance.
- Narrative Poetry — Linked rhyming stanzas follow the narrator's vision and embed Rousseau's account of the cup, the procession, and his fall by the wayside.
- Philosophical Poetry — The narrator questions the relation between power and goodness, while Rousseau describes captives whose learning failed to give them self-knowledge.
Tags
waking visions · triumphal processions · captivity · aging · forgetfulness · self-knowledge
What this Textopian page supports
The Triumph of Life 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: Allegorical Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Philosophical Poetry
- Length: 6,155 words
- Structure: 1 section, 183 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Confusing
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