Victoria by Percy Bysshe Shelley
The speaker sits alone in a dwelling during a violent night storm as a lamp dies. A ghostly figure identified as Victoria appears amidst the whirlwind, holding a shroud and advancing toward the narrator's home.
By Percy Bysshe Shelley · Genre: Gothic Poetry, Romantic Poetry, Supernatural Fiction · 247 words
First lines
1.
'Twas dead of the night, when I sat in my dwelling; / One glimmering lamp was expiring and low; / Around, the dark tide of the tempest was swelling, / Along the wild mountains night-ravens were yelling,- / They bodingly presaged destruction and woe.
2.
'Twas then that I started! -the wild storm was howling, / Nought was seen, save the lightning, which danced in the sky; / Above me, the crash of the thunder was rolling, / And low, chilling murmurs, the blast wafted by.
Genres
- Gothic Poetry — A dying lamp, a violent night storm and chilling murmurs precede the approach of a murdered woman's ghost carrying a shadowy shroud.
- Romantic Poetry — The speaker's heart sinks as conscience whispers, while thunder and battling clouds go unheeded; the storm then carries Victoria's apparition toward the dwelling.
- Supernatural Fiction — The ghost of the murdered Victoria appears on the whirlwind and advances toward the speaker's dwelling with a shroud in her hand.
Tags
ghosts · night storm · conscience · murder · shroud · narrative poem
What this Textopian page supports
Victoria 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: Gothic Poetry, Romantic Poetry, Supernatural Fiction
- Length: 247 words
- Structure: 1 section, 10 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Victoria by Percy Bysshe Shelley
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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