PASSAGES OF THE PREFACE. by Percy Bysshe Shelley: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
This prose-poem is taken from Shelley's preface to *Adonais* (1821), his tribute to John Keats.
The poem
...the expression of my indignation and sympathy. I will allow myself a first and last word on the subject of calumny as it relates to me. As an author I have dared and invited censure. If I understand myself, I have written neither for profit nor for fame. I have employed my poetical compositions and publications simply as the instruments of that sympathy between myself and others which the ardent and unbounded love I cherished for my kind incited me to acquire. I expected all sorts of stupidity and insolent contempt from those... ...These compositions (excepting the tragedy of “The Cenci”, which was written rather to try my powers than to unburthen my full heart) are insufficiently...commendation than perhaps they deserve, even from their bitterest enemies; but they have not attained any corresponding popularity. As a man, I shrink from notice and regard; the ebb and flow of the world vexes me; I desire to be left in peace. Persecution, contumely, and calumny have been heaped upon me in profuse measure; and domestic conspiracy and legal oppression have violated in my person the most sacred rights of nature and humanity. The bigot will say it was the recompense of my errors; the man of the world will call it the result of my imprudence; but never upon one head... ...Reviewers, with some rare exceptions, are a most stupid and malignant race. As a bankrupt thief turns thieftaker in despair, so an unsuccessful author turns critic. But a young spirit panting for fame, doubtful of its powers, and certain only of its aspirations, is ill qualified to assign its true value to the sneer of this world. He knows not that such stuff as this is of the abortive and monstrous births which time consumes as fast as it produces. He sees the truth and falsehood, the merits and demerits, of his case inextricably entangled...No personal offence should have drawn from me this public comment upon such stuff... ...The offence of this poor victim seems to have consisted solely in his intimacy with Leigh Hunt, Mr. Hazlitt, and some other enemies of despotism and superstition. My friend Hunt has a very hard skull to crack, and will take a deal of killing. I do not know much of Mr. Hazlitt, but... ...I knew personally but little of Keats; but on the news of his situation I wrote to him, suggesting the propriety of trying the Italian climate, and inviting him to join me. Unfortunately he did not allow me...
This prose-poem is taken from Shelley's preface to *Adonais* (1821), his tribute to John Keats. In this piece, Shelley stands up for himself and his friends against the harsh criticism they faced, insisting that his writing stems from a true passion for humanity rather than a desire for wealth or recognition. He also expresses sorrow over how Keats was treated and shares his own feelings of bitterness regarding the persecution he has experienced.
Line-by-line
...the expression of my indignation and sympathy. I will allow myself / a first and last word on the subject of calumny as it relates to me.
As an author I have dared and invited censure. If I understand myself, / I have written neither for profit nor for fame.
These compositions (excepting the tragedy of 'The Cenci'...) are insufficiently...commendation than perhaps they deserve...
As a man, I shrink from notice and regard; the ebb and flow of the world vexes me; / I desire to be left in peace.
Reviewers, with some rare exceptions, are a most stupid and malignant race. / As a bankrupt thief turns thieftaker in despair, so an unsuccessful author turns critic.
The offence of this poor victim seems to have consisted solely in his intimacy with Leigh Hunt, Mr. Hazlitt, and some other enemies of despotism and superstition.
I knew personally but little of Keats; but on the news of his situation / I wrote to him, suggesting the propriety of trying the Italian climate...
Tone & mood
The tone is indignant and hurt, yet it avoids slipping into self-pity. Shelley writes with the confidence of someone who has been pushed to their limit and has chosen to respond assertively. There are moments of biting humor—the image of the thief who becomes a thieftaker is almost brutal—mixed with truly tender sections, particularly regarding Keats. Beneath the anger lies a thread of idealism: Shelley still holds on to the belief that poetry serves to unite people, even when the world appears intent on punishing him for that conviction.
Symbols & metaphors
- Calumny — False accusation represents the entire system of conservative literary and legal culture that Shelley believed had aimed at him — from negative reviews to the court cases that took away his children.
- The bankrupt thief turned thieftaker — A striking comparison for the unsuccessful writer who turns into a critic. It suggests that, in Shelley's view, criticism is more about revenge than true judgment — stemming from envy and failure rather than authentic appreciation.
- The Italian climate — Shelley's invitation to Keats to visit Italy serves as a practical medical recommendation and embodies the Romantic notion of the south as a land of warmth, beauty, and creative rejuvenation. Keats's decision to decline adds a layer of tragedy to this symbol.
- Ebb and flow of the world — The tidal metaphor reflects Shelley's view of public life as restless and indifferent — a force that drains rather than uplifts a person. This reinforces his expressed wish to step back from the spotlight.
- Leigh Hunt and Hazlitt as 'enemies of despotism' — These real names symbolize a community under attack — radical writers whose friendship was seen as a crime by the conservative establishment.
Historical context
Shelley wrote this preface for *Adonais* (1821), his pastoral elegy mourning John Keats, who passed away from tuberculosis in Rome at the young age of twenty-five. Shelley passionately believed — though he was mistaken — that a harsh review in the *Quarterly Review* had crushed Keats's spirit and contributed to his early death. As a result, the preface serves as both a literary manifesto and a critique of the Tory press. By 1821, Shelley had been exiled from England, had lost custody of his children from his first wife Harriet, and had been publicly branded as an atheist and immoralist. His circle, which included Leigh Hunt, William Hazlitt, and Lord Byron, was often ridiculed in conservative publications. Shelley himself drowned off the Italian coast the following year, in 1822, never to return to England.
FAQ
It’s prose — more specifically, the preface that Shelley wrote for his elegy *Adonais*. This piece is examined as a literary work in its own right due to its passionate, nearly lyrical quality and its significance as a representation of Romantic poetic values. You might consider it a prose-poem or a literary manifesto.
The immediate target of the hostile reviews Shelley discusses was probably a writer from the Leigh Hunt circle—possibly Keats or someone similar. Shelley's larger argument is that anyone linked to Hunt and Hazlitt faced attacks not for their literary work but for political reasons.
No — Keats died of tuberculosis, a physical illness. However, Shelley (along with Byron, who famously quipped about it) thought that the harsh 1818 critique of *Endymion* by the *Quarterly Review* had devastated Keats emotionally. Today, many scholars disagree with this view, and Keats was actually more resilient about criticism than Shelley acknowledged. Still, this myth fueled much of the intensity in *Adonais*.
Contemptuous and insulting treatment is designed to humiliate rather than just criticize. Shelley pairs it with 'persecution' and 'calumny' to create an image of ongoing, intentional cruelty instead of genuine disagreement.
This is a central idea of Romanticism: true poetry arises from authentic emotions and a longing to connect with others, rather than from commercial interests or ego. Shelley is also responding to accusations that his bold work was merely an attempt to gain fame.
*The Cenci* (1819) is a verse tragedy inspired by a real story of incest and murder during the Renaissance in Italy. Shelley noted that he wrote it to challenge his skills as a dramatist rather than to convey his deepest emotions—viewing it more as a craft exercise than a personal expression, which sets it apart from works like *Prometheus Unbound*.
Leigh Hunt was a poet, essayist, and editor who had already spent time in jail for libeling the Prince Regent. William Hazlitt was an insightful and confrontational critic known for his radical political views. Both were linked to what conservative journals derisively termed the 'Cockney School'—a dismissive label for London-based writers of lower social status who had the audacity to discuss beauty, politics, and poetry without an Oxbridge background.
Shelley drowned in the Gulf of Spezia, Italy, in July 1822, just under a year after he wrote this preface. He was only twenty-nine. His friends, including Byron, cremated his body on the beach. After leaving England in 1818, he never returned.