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The Annotated Edition

CANCELLED OPENING OF THE TRIUMPH OF LIFE. by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Summary, meaning, line-by-line analysis & FAQ.

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This is a cancelled opening fragment for Shelley's unfinished masterpiece *The Triumph of Life*, depicting the sun emerging from the earth's shadow and illuminating the world.

Poet
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Themes
beauty, mortality, nature
The PoemFull text

CANCELLED OPENING OF THE TRIUMPH OF LIFE.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

[Published by Miss M. Blind, “Westminster Review”, July, 1870.] Out of the eastern shadow of the Earth, Amid the clouds upon its margin gray Scattered by Night to swathe in its bright birth In gold and fleecy snow the infant Day, The glorious Sun arose: beneath his light, _5 The earth and all... _10-_17 A widow...sound 1870; omitted here 1824; printed as ‘A Song,’ 1824, page 217. _34, _35 dawn Bathe Mrs. Shelley (later editions); dawn, Bathed 1824, 1839. _63 shunned Boscombe manuscript; spurned 1824, 1839. _70 Of...interspersed Boscombe manuscript; Of grassy paths and wood, lawn-interspersed 1824; wood-lawn-interspersed 1839. _84 form]frown 1824. _93 light...beam]light upon the chariot beam; 1824. _96 it omitted 1824. _109 thunder Boscombe manuscript; thunders 1824; thunder’s 1839. _112 greet Boscombe manuscript; meet 1824, 1839. _129 conqueror or conqueror’s cj. A.C. Bradley. _131-_134 See Editor’s Note. _158 while Boscombe manuscript; omitted 1824, 1839. _167 And...dance 1839 To seek, to [ ], to strain 1824. _168 Seeking 1839; Limping 1824. _188 canst, Mrs. Shelley 1824, 1839, 1847. _189 forborne!’ 1824, 1839, 1847. _190 Feature, (of my thought aware); Mrs. Shelley 1847. _188-_190 The punctuation is A.C. Bradley’s. _202 nutriment Boscombe manuscript; sentiment 1824, 1839. _205 Stain]Stained 1824, 1839. _235 Said my 1824, 1839; Said then my cj. Forman. _238 names which the 1839: name the 1824. _252 how]now cj. Forman. _260 him 1839; omitted 1824. _265 singled for cj. Forman. _280 See Editor’s Note. _281, _282 Even...then Boscombe manuscript; omitted 1824, 1839. _296 camest Boscombe manuscript; comest 1824, 1839. _311 season Boscombe manuscript; year’s dawn 1824, 1839. _322 the Boscombe manuscript; her 1824, 1839. _334 woke cj. A.C. Bradley; wake 1824, 1839. Cf. _296, footnote. _361 Of...and Boscombe manuscript; Out of the deep cavern with 1824, 1839. _363 Glided Boscombe manuscript; She glided 1824, 1839. _377 in Boscombe manuscript; to 1824. _422 The favourite song, Stanco di pascolar le pecorelle, is a Brescian national air.—[MRS. SHELLEY’S NOTE.] _464 early]aery cj. Forman. _475 awe Boscombe manuscript; care 1824. _486 isle Boscombe manuscript; vale 1824. _497 sate like vultures Boscombe manuscript; rode like demons 1824. _515 those]eyes cj. Rossetti. _534 Wrought Boscombe manuscript; Wrapt 1824.

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

This is a cancelled opening fragment for Shelley's unfinished masterpiece *The Triumph of Life*, depicting the sun emerging from the earth's shadow and illuminating the world. It introduces the expansive, dreamlike vision-poem that follows, where a chariot of Life sweeps across humanity. You can think of it as a deleted first scene from a film — removed before publication but later found in manuscripts.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. Out of the eastern shadow of the Earth, / Amid the clouds upon its margin gray

    Editor's note

    Shelley begins with the earth's shadow lingering in the eastern sky just before sunrise—a fascinating atmospheric phenomenon where the planet's shadow creates a dark band visible on the horizon at dawn. The clouds are called 'gray' since they haven't yet absorbed the sun's colors. This creates a vivid, almost scientific image before it transforms into something beautiful.

  2. Scattered by Night to swathe in its bright birth / In gold and fleecy snow the infant Day,

    Editor's note

    Night is portrayed as a being that wraps clouds around the newborn Day like swaddling cloth. The phrase "fleecy snow" captures the soft, wool-like texture of the morning clouds glowing from beneath. This metaphor of Day as an infant being cradled adds a gentle, homey touch, creating a sharp contrast to the vastness of the cosmic setting.

  3. The glorious Sun arose: beneath his light, / The earth and all...

    Editor's note

    The fragment ends abruptly here, mid-sentence, which suits the poem's nature as a cancelled draft. The sun's arrival is simply stated — 'The glorious Sun arose' — before Shelley shifts to depict what the light illuminates. This incompleteness reflects the unfinished quality of the larger poem, which Shelley was still working on when he drowned in 1822.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone is elevated and ceremonial, much like the feeling of watching a sunrise and searching for words that truly capture its magnificence. The imagery of 'infant Day' brings a warmth that tempers the grandeur. Yet, beneath this beauty lies a subtle unease — this is the beginning of a poem about Life as a powerful, overwhelming force, so the dawn light has a dual nature: it’s stunning, but it’s also the light that will expose something dark.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

The eastern shadow of the Earth
The literal shadow that the earth casts on its own atmosphere at dawn symbolizes the persistent presence of darkness, ignorance, or mortality that the sun hasn't yet dispelled. In the context of *The Triumph of Life*, this darkness never truly disappears.
The infant Day
Day is depicted as a newborn, wrapped in clouds of gold and white. This imagery evokes a sense of innocence and fragility—the new day is lovely yet delicate, mirroring how human hope and joy appear in the wider poem, where Life's chariot ultimately crushes them.
The glorious Sun
In Shelley's work, the sun consistently represents truth, creative power, and ideals. It signals the vision that unfolds throughout the poem. Its light is both freeing and harsh—it reveals the victory of Life over humanity while providing no refuge.
Gold and fleecy snow
The colors of sunrise clouds — warm gold and cool white — reflect the blend of light and lingering darkness at dawn's first light. They also convey both richness and softness, embodying the poem's central tension: life is beautiful, but it demands everything from you.

§06Historical context

Historical context

Shelley wrote *The Triumph of Life* in the spring of 1822, drawing inspiration from Dante's *Divine Comedy* and Petrarch's *Trionfi*. At the time, he was living in Italy, having chosen to live in self-imposed exile from England for several years. The poem remained unfinished — even mid-sentence — when Shelley tragically drowned in the Gulf of Spezia on July 8, 1822, at just 29 years old. Mary Shelley published the main text after his death in 1824. However, the canceled opening wasn't released until 1870, when Mathilde Blind included it in the *Westminster Review* based on a manuscript. The textual notes that accompany the fragment show how extensively the poem was revised between the Boscombe manuscript and the printed editions from 1824 and 1839, with contributions from Mary Shelley and later editors like A.C. Bradley and H.B. Forman, each leaving their distinct imprint on the text.

§07FAQ

Questions readers ask

We can't say for sure — Shelley didn't leave a note about why he made the cut. The most plausible explanation is that he chose to start *in medias res*, plunging the reader straight into the dream-vision without any scenic setup. The published poem begins with the speaker already in a trance, observing the world waking up, which feels more immediate and odd than a typical sunrise description.

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