PETER BELL THE THIRD. by Percy Bysshe Shelley: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
*Peter Bell the Third* is Shelley’s biting comic poem that mocks William Wordsworth.
The poem
Thomas Brown, Esq., the Younger, H. F., to whom the “Dedication” is addressed, is the Irish poet, Tom Moore. The letters H. F. may stand for ‘Historian of the Fudges’ (Garnett), Hibernicae Filius (Rossetti), or, perhaps, Hibernicae Fidicen. Castles and Oliver (3 2 1; 7 4 4) were government spies, as readers of Charles Lamb are aware. The allusion in 6 36 is to Wordsworth’s “Thanksgiving Ode on The Battle of Waterloo”, original version, published in 1816:— But Thy most dreaded instrument, In working out a pure intent, Is Man—arrayed for mutual slaughter, —Yea, Carnage is Thy daughter! 1. Lines 547-549 (6 18 5; 19 1, 2). These lines evidently form a continuous clause. The full stop of the editio princeps at rocks, line 547, has therefore been deleted, and a semicolon substituted for the original comma at the close of line 546. 2. ‘Ay—and at last desert me too.’ (line 603.) Rossetti, who however follows the editio princeps, saw that these words are spoken—not by Peter to his soul, but—by his soul to Peter, by way of rejoinder to the challenge of lines 600-602:—‘And I and you, My dearest Soul, will then make merry, As the Prince Regent did with Sherry.’ In order to indicate this fact, inverted commas are inserted at the close of line 602 and the beginning of line 603. 3. The punctuation of the editio princeps, 1839, has been throughout revised, but—with the two exceptions specified in notes (1) and (2) above—it seemed an unprofitable labour to record the particular alterations, which serve but to clarify—in no instance to modify—the sense as indicated by Mrs. Shelley’s punctuation.
*Peter Bell the Third* is Shelley’s biting comic poem that mocks William Wordsworth. It features the character of Peter Bell, drawn from Wordsworth's own work, as a representation of a poet who compromises his radical beliefs for social acceptance and government approval. Shelley explores Peter's decline in both morality and spirit across seven sections, illustrating how someone who once experienced deep emotions becomes numb, uninspired, and complicit with the oppressive forces that harm everyday people. It blends literary satire with political criticism, and it’s genuinely humorous at times.
Line-by-line
Dedication: To Thomas Brown, Esq., the Younger, H.F.
Part the First: Death / Is yawning to a grave yawn...
Part the Second: The Devil / The Devil, I safely can aver...
Part the Third: Hell / Hell is a city much like London...
Part the Fourth: Sin / Peter was dull — he was at first...
Part the Fifth: Grace / Among the guests who often stayed...
Part the Sixth: Damnation / Even the Preacher, who had kept...
Part the Seventh: Double Damnation / The Devil now knew his proper cue...
Tone & mood
The tone is both comic and biting—imagine a clever friend who's also truly outraged. Shelley delivers a steady stream of jokes (the mock-scholarly notes, the Devil as a London socialite, Hell as a city guide), but beneath each laugh lies genuine anger over political betrayal and the corruption of artistic integrity. The poem avoids turning into a rant thanks to its wit, yet it consistently reminds you that Shelley views Wordsworth's defection as a significant moral failure.
Symbols & metaphors
- Peter Bell — Peter embodies Wordsworth, yet he also represents a wider archetype: the artist who sacrifices authentic emotion and political bravery for the sake of comfort and acceptance. Shelley takes this character from Wordsworth's poem and transforms him into a reflection of his creator.
- Hell as London — By making Hell look just like the capital, Shelley suggests that the true inferno isn't something otherworldly but rather stems from social and political issues — created by inequality, corruption, and the relentless workings of the British state in the years following Waterloo.
- Dullness — Shelley views dullness not just as a personality trait but as a moral failing and a political threat. Someone lacking imagination and emotion can’t stand up to power; they unwittingly become its tool.
- The Devil as gentleman — The Devil's stylish yet ordinary look takes the drama out of evil, placing it within the everyday settings of dinner parties and social connections. According to Shelley, evil resembles respectability to a tee.
- Carnage as God's daughter — The direct quotation from Wordsworth's Thanksgiving Ode serves as Shelley's smoking gun — clear proof that Wordsworth hasn't merely fallen silent but has actually endorsed state violence. It's the most damning evidence in the poem.
- The soul's final rejoinder — When Peter's soul warns him that it will abandon him as well, it marks the totality of his downfall. He has lost his politics, his poetry, his supporters, and ultimately his inner life. There is nothing left.
Historical context
Shelley wrote *Peter Bell the Third* in 1819, the very same year as the Peterloo Massacre, when government cavalry charged into a peaceful crowd of reform protesters in Manchester, resulting in the deaths of at least fifteen people. By this time, Wordsworth, who had once passionately supported the French Revolution, had taken on a government job as Distributor of Stamps and was writing odes that praised the post-Napoleonic order. For Shelley and his fellow radicals, this felt like an unforgivable betrayal. The poem was prompted by the release of Wordsworth's *Peter Bell* and John Hamilton Reynolds's parody of it, both published in the same week of April 1819. While in Italy, Shelley read about these events in England with growing horror and quickly wrote his own version as a third installment—a satirical autopsy of a poet he believed had morally died long before his physical death. However, the poem didn’t see publication until 1839, seventeen years after Shelley's passing.
FAQ
Peter Bell represents William Wordsworth in Shelley’s work. Shelley takes this character from Wordsworth's narrative poem *Peter Bell* (1819) to illustrate what he perceived as Wordsworth's transformation from a radical young poet into a supporter of the conservative government.
It's one of the poem's most famous moves. Shelley paints Hell in Part Three as a city teeming with lawyers, spies, priests, and corrupt politicians—all familiar sights from early 19th-century London. The message here is that real hell isn't some post-death destination; it's the society we find ourselves in now, shaped by inequality and repression.
Shelley quotes directly from Wordsworth's *Thanksgiving Ode* (1816), where Wordsworth portrays God as using mass slaughter to enact divine will. For Shelley, this line showcases Wordsworth's total moral decline — he has shifted from celebrating human freedom to endorsing state violence.
Shelley sent the manuscript to his publisher, Leigh Hunt, in 1819, but it never saw the light of day while he was alive, likely due to its direct criticism of Wordsworth and the politically sensitive nature of its content in the repressive climate after Peterloo. It eventually came out in 1839 as part of Mary Shelley's posthumous edition of his works.
Shelley argues that dullness — the suppression of imagination, feeling, and moral awareness — poses a greater danger than outright wickedness. This is because a dull individual can be manipulated by those in power without even realizing it. Peter doesn’t actively choose evil; he simply loses the ability to resist it.
The dedication is to Tom Moore, the Irish poet and friend of Shelley, who is presented as 'Thomas Brown, Esq., the Younger, H.F.' The humorous scholarly details surrounding the dedication—such as the various interpretations of the initials—serve as a joke, establishing the poem's tone of playful yet serious literary mischief.
It's both, but satire is the more significant label. Parody mimics a specific work for humor; Shelley does take inspiration from Wordsworth's *Peter Bell*, but his true focus is on Wordsworth's life and politics, not just his poem. The comedy serves as a way to convey a sincere political and moral argument.
Shelley wrote the poem in 1819, the year of Peterloo, and his anger towards Wordsworth is tied to his outrage at the government that sanctioned the massacre. In Shelley's view, Wordsworth's support for that government made him complicit in its violence. This poem is part of a group of Shelley's political writings from 1819, which also features *The Mask of Anarchy*.