REVENGE. by Percy Bysshe Shelley: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
A young man named Adolphus goes to a tomb at night to meet the ghost of Conrad, and his devoted girlfriend Agnes insists on joining him despite his warnings.
The poem
‘Ah! quit me not yet, for the wind whistles shrill, Its blast wanders mournfully over the hill, The thunder’s wild voice rattles madly above, You will not then, cannot then, leave me my love.—’ I must dearest Agnes, the night is far gone— _5 I must wander this evening to Strasburg alone, I must seek the drear tomb of my ancestors’ bones, And must dig their remains from beneath the cold stones. ‘For the spirit of Conrad there meets me this night, And we quit not the tomb ‘till dawn of the light, _10 And Conrad’s been dead just a month and a day! So farewell dearest Agnes for I must away,— ‘He bid me bring with me what most I held dear, Or a month from that time should I lie on my bier, And I’d sooner resign this false fluttering breath, _15 Than my Agnes should dread either danger or death, ‘And I love you to madness my Agnes I love, My constant affection this night will I prove, This night will I go to the sepulchre’s jaw Alone will I glut its all conquering maw’— _20 ‘No! no loved Adolphus thy Agnes will share, In the tomb all the dangers that wait for you there, I fear not the spirit,—I fear not the grave, My dearest Adolphus I’d perish to save’— ‘Nay seek not to say that thy love shall not go, _25 But spare me those ages of horror and woe, For I swear to thee here that I’ll perish ere day, If you go unattended by Agnes away’— The night it was bleak the fierce storm raged around, The lightning’s blue fire-light flashed on the ground, _30 Strange forms seemed to flit,—and howl tidings of fate, As Agnes advanced to the sepulchre gate.— The youth struck the portal,—the echoing sound Was fearfully rolled midst the tombstones around, The blue lightning gleamed o’er the dark chapel spire, _35 And tinged were the storm clouds with sulphurous fire. Still they gazed on the tombstone where Conrad reclined, Yet they shrank at the cold chilling blast of the wind, When a strange silver brilliance pervaded the scene, And a figure advanced—tall in form—fierce in mien. _40 A mantle encircled his shadowy form, As light as a gossamer borne on the storm, Celestial terror sat throned in his gaze, Like the midnight pestiferous meteor’s blaze.— SPIRIT: Thy father, Adolphus! was false, false as hell, _45 And Conrad has cause to remember it well, He ruined my Mother, despised me his son, I quitted the world ere my vengeance was done. I was nearly expiring—’twas close of the day,— A demon advanced to the bed where I lay, _50 He gave me the power from whence I was hurled, To return to revenge, to return to the world,— Now Adolphus I’ll seize thy best loved in my arms, I’ll drag her to Hades all blooming in charms, On the black whirlwind’s thundering pinion I’ll ride, _55 And fierce yelling fiends shall exult o’er thy bride— He spoke, and extending his ghastly arms wide, Majestic advanced with a swift noiseless stride, He clasped the fair Agnes—he raised her on high, And cleaving the roof sped his way to the sky— _60 All was now silent,—and over the tomb, Thicker, deeper, was swiftly extended a gloom, Adolphus in horror sank down on the stone, And his fleeting soul fled with a harrowing groan.
A young man named Adolphus goes to a tomb at night to meet the ghost of Conrad, and his devoted girlfriend Agnes insists on joining him despite his warnings. The ghost reveals himself as the vengeful spirit of a man wronged by Adolphus's father, and he takes Agnes to the underworld as punishment for sins she didn't commit. Adolphus collapses and dies instantly, making the title's "revenge" brutally complete and profoundly unfair.
Line-by-line
'Ah! quit me not yet, for the wind whistles shrill, / Its blast wanders mournfully over the hill,'
I must dearest Agnes, the night is far gone— / I must wander this evening to Strasburg alone,
'For the spirit of Conrad there meets me this night, / And we quit not the tomb 'till dawn of the light,'
'He bid me bring with me what most I held dear, / Or a month from that time should I lie on my bier,'
'And I love you to madness my Agnes I love, / My constant affection this night will I prove,'
'No! no loved Adolphus thy Agnes will share, / In the tomb all the dangers that wait for you there,'
'Nay seek not to say that thy love shall not go, / But spare me those ages of horror and woe,'
The night it was bleak the fierce storm raged around, / The lightning's blue fire-light flashed on the ground,
The youth struck the portal,—the echoing sound / Was fearfully rolled midst the tombstones around,
Still they gazed on the tombstone where Conrad reclined, / Yet they shrank at the cold chilling blast of the wind,
SPIRIT: / Thy father, Adolphus! was false, false as hell,
Now Adolphus I'll seize thy best loved in my arms, / I'll drag her to Hades all blooming in charms,
He spoke, and extending his ghastly arms wide, / Majestic advanced with a swift noiseless stride,
All was now silent,—and over the tomb, / Thicker, deeper, was swiftly extended a gloom,
Tone & mood
The tone is breathless and melodramatic, capturing the essence of Gothic literature—urgent, stormy, and persistently dark. Shelley maintains an intense emotional atmosphere, shifting from the lovers' tender pleas to feelings of supernatural dread and outright horror. There’s no hint of irony or detachment. The poem immerses you in the chill of the wind, the flash of blue lightning, and the heavy burden of an injustice that consumes both the innocent and the guilty.
Symbols & metaphors
- The storm — The wind, thunder, and lightning aren't just there for effect—they reflect the moral chaos within the poem. In a world where innocent people suffer for the sins of others, everything feels wrong, and the storm makes that disorder visible.
- The tomb / sepulchre — The ancestral tomb symbolizes how the sins of the past linger into the present. Adolphus is called to unearth his family's bones — the past refuses to remain buried and threatens to pull the living down with it.
- Agnes — Agnes represents innocent love trapped in the turmoil of inherited guilt. She doesn't do anything wrong — she embodies bravery, devotion, and selflessness — yet she is the one who suffers. Her name, which comes from the Latin meaning 'pure' or 'lamb', highlights her position as an innocent victim even more sharply.
- The demon who empowers Conrad — The demon symbolizes revenge as a corrupting influence. Conrad's feelings of hurt are valid, and his pain is real, but embracing demonic power to seek vengeance turns him into a monstrous figure. What was once a means of justice evolves into a tool of cruelty.
- Blue lightning / sulphurous fire — Sulphur has long been associated with the smell of hell, while the blue-tinged lightning connects the storm to the infernal. The supernatural isn't coming from above; it's rising from below — the entire scene glows with an underworld light.
- Conrad's gossamer mantle — A cloak as light as a spider's web, worn in a violent storm, captures the contradiction of Conrad's nature: he exists between worlds, not entirely physical and not entirely spirit. This image is both delicate and terrifying.
Historical context
Shelley wrote this poem as a teenager, likely before 1810, while he was still immersed in his Gothic phase and eagerly reading popular horror fiction of the time — authors like Horace Walpole, Ann Radcliffe, and Matthew Lewis. It appeared in his early collection *Original Poetry by Victor and Cazire* (1810), which he co-authored with his sister Elizabeth. The poem fits neatly into the tradition of the German *Schauerroman* (shudder-novel) and the English Gothic ballad, featuring haunted tombs, vengeful spirits, and doomed lovers. Strasburg (Strasbourg) was a typical Gothic setting, evoking images of old Europe, dark forests, and ancient family curses. Although the poem predates Shelley's later philosophical and political work by nearly a decade, his interest in injustice is already evident here — framed not as a social critique but as supernatural horror. The theme of the father's sins destroying the innocent son is one Shelley would revisit in more nuanced ways throughout his career.
FAQ
Conrad is the ghost of a man who was born as the illegitimate son of Adolphus's father. His father seduced his mother, then abandoned them, leaving Conrad to grow up in disgrace. He died before he could take his revenge, so he struck a deal with a demon to come back and complete what he began.
Conrad goes after Agnes because she represents everything Adolphus cherishes — even the ghost makes this clear. Taking her away is the most brutal form of revenge: it keeps Adolphus alive just long enough for him to grasp his loss before crushing him with sorrow. This act also reflects the initial wrongdoing: just like Adolphus's father took and harmed someone Conrad held dear (his mother), Conrad takes and harms someone Adolphus loves.
No, and that’s the darkest element of the poem. Agnes is brave, loving, and utterly innocent. She chooses to go to the tomb purely out of her devotion to Adolphus. The poem doesn’t imply that she deserves her fate — her destruction is central to the revenge, making it all the more devastating.
It represents Conrad's revenge against Adolphus's father’s family. However, the title has a deeper, more sinister implication: the poem explores how revenge can act like poison. While Conrad's desire for vengeance makes sense given his circumstances, the way he carries it out is monstrous — he harms two innocent people who weren’t involved in his pain.
Strasburg (modern-day Strasbourg) was a quintessential Gothic setting in early 19th-century literature—ancient, European, linked to noble families, dark woods, and Catholic architecture featuring chapels and crypts. Shelley drew on the tradition of German Gothic horror, and a German city lent the poem an authentic sense of old-world terror.
Shelley was about 17 or 18 years old when this was published in 1810. You can really see the impact of the Gothic novels he loved as a teenager — authors like Ann Radcliffe and Matthew Lewis. It's definitely a poem from a young writer: lively, somewhat melodramatic, and genuinely enjoyable in its dedication to horror.
The poem uses anapestic tetrameter — a lively rhythm that features two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed one. This metre is common in various ballads and Gothic poems from the time, matching the breathless, urgent tone beautifully. The rhythm drives the action forward, reflecting the relentless momentum of the revenge plot.
On the surface, this work seems quite different from the philosophical poetry that Shelley is celebrated for, but it grapples with the same fundamental issue: innocent people suffering because of the powerful. In *Prometheus Unbound* and *The Mask of Anarchy*, Shelley examines this theme through political and mythological lenses. Here, he approaches it via Gothic horror. Instead of a tyrant king, the antagonist is a corrupt father, but the underlying moral outrage remains unchanged.