Ethical elements in P.B.Shelley’s ‘Prometheus Unbound’

Abstract

Percy Bysshe Shelley is one of the greatest British poets of romanticism. his literary work is great in quantity and quality, where we clearly see the most important features of romanticism, like the overflow of emotions, imagination, importance given to individualism, praise and importance of nature etc. his poetry is various in form and themes. they can be classified in lyrical poems, long narrative poems, plays, etc. in this paper there will be a short presentation on the author and his work in general, but the most important part is the insight of the ethical elements in his greatest narrative poem 'Prometheus unbound'. the variety of themes, ethical messages, Shelley’s ideology on revolution and his political views are issues analyzed. For example, the major theme of Prometheus unbound is that if humanity chooses to shake off corruption and embrace love (represented by Prometheus’s revocation of his curse against Jupiter), then reform – political, social, and religious – will necessarily follow. the poem thus teaches that humans possess the capacity within themselves to effect reform, beginning with the individual rejection of evil. We also tried to make a comparison between Shelley’s poem, and the ancient myth about Prometheus, etc. the aesthetical elements included in the poem are also discusses. However, not only ‘Prometheus unbound’, but majority of Shelley’s poems are unique as his life was.