Biography of Percy Shelley - Research Paper Example

He had a short span of life from 1792-1822 filled with many occurrences and events that had a history of their own (“Percy Bysshe”, n.d.). He had a troubled-youth because of his odd and mad behavior toward other children at school. Students used to bully him which made his react more aggressively. However, he also had positive outcomes from his childhood. His interest toward scientific phenomena and Gothic romance thrillers were originated by that time (“Percy Bysshe”, n.d.). He had a different vision toward combining the concept of science and romance which was later revealed in his poems and work done.

He gathered more knowledge by reading literature and philosophical books from a personal library of a physician, Dr. Lind during his college life. He began writing in 1810 when his first novel on gothic romance was published. By the time he went to university, he was known as a renowned and revolutionary write with a radical thinking and literacy knowledge (“Percy Bysshe”, n.d.). However, in this time, he proposed a most radical and critics able idea of atheism and published “necessity of atheism”.

As expected, it was not supported and he was expelled from the university. This was the time when the romance as exposed in his writings was about to come into existence. His meeting to Harriet Westbrook was the first step in his romance life which sooner changed into realm of marriage. However, Percy believed in free love theme. He considered love a boundless feeling which can happen anywhere, anytime and more than once. This was well clear when he fell in love with another girl Mary, daughter of his great admirer William Godwin.

He started this affair when his wife was already pregnant with his first child. He tried to lead this affair through approval of Harriet but all in vain. She was shattered at his idea of free love and more affairs and demanded divorce from him. However, he fled to Europe and spent six weeks along with Mary and her sister Claire. After his return to home in 1814, Harriet was a mother of his first son Charles. Next year, Percy had a daughter from Mary but the child died within few weeks due to pre-mature birth.

Then, in 1816, he had a son from Mary named William. However, this year proved worsen for both when Mary’s Sister Fanny committed suicide along with the suicide of Harriet by being drowned. Despite of the tragedies, the couple got married by the end of year 1816. They again had a beautiful daughter in 1817 that sadly died due to illness the very next year. This grief was not over yet when their only son William also died in 1819. These series of tragically occurring events turned Percy from a tall, smart and almost beautiful young man to a grey haired, skinny and stooping fellow.

He died in a very young age of 29 by being drowned in the Gulf of Spezia while sailing. His remains were burned and an enthusiastic, revolutionary poet died in series of events of grief, failed romance and a quest for proposing novelty in English literature. The whole life of this great poet was casted by the clouds of several events affecting his work and writings. His free-love life, failure of first marriage, introduction of a side affair and children’s deaths, all left a mark on his poems and writings.

As starting from his early life, he was inspired by Dr. Lind who let him study in his library and broadened his vision on philosophy, literature and gothic romance. This inspiration was clearly exposed in his poem “