THE FUGITIVES.
TO —. ‘MUSIC, WHEN SOFT VOICES DIE’.
SONG: ‘RARELY, RARELY, COMEST THOU’.
The Annotated Edition
THE FUGITIVES. by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Read aloud in ~1 minOpen reading mode →
Two lovers run away together into the night, fueled by danger and united by their devotion.
- Themes
- courage, exile, freedom
§01Quick summary
What this poem is about
Two lovers run away together into the night, fueled by danger and united by their devotion. Shelley conveys the intense urgency of their escape while also highlighting the tenderness found in their shared risk. The poem serves as a powerful celebration of love, portraying it as both a safe haven and a source of bravery.
§02Themes
Recurring themes
§03Line by line
Stanza by stanza, with notes
The waters are flashing, / The white hail is dashing,
Editor's note
Shelley begins with a raging storm—water flashing and hail pelting down. The natural world is both violent and indifferent, creating an immediate sense of danger. The lovers aren’t escaping to safety; they’re running straight into the fury of the elements.
The lightning is glancing, / The hoar-frost is dancing,
Editor's note
The storm worsens with flashes of lightning and frost. Shelley uses present participles — glancing, dancing — to convey a feeling of constant, overlapping motion. Everything surrounding the fugitives feels alive and threatening, but there's also a wild beauty to it.
Away, away, away! / Some are gone, and some remain,
Editor's note
The repeated cry of 'Away!' serves as the emotional heartbeat of the poem — urgent, breathless, and impossible to ignore. The mention of some having gone and others still present suggests a larger community left behind, intensifying the feelings of loss and separation tied to the escape.
The hoar-frost is sleeping, / The river is creeping,
Editor's note
The pace shifts a bit. The frost 'sleeps' and the river 'creeps' — quieter, slower verbs that hint at a brief lull or a shift in the landscape as the fugitives continue. The world remains cold and watchful, but the frantic energy of the beginning eases just a touch.
Away, away, away! / Thy lover awaits thee,
Editor's note
The repeated refrain comes back, but this time it’s aimed directly at the beloved. The flight feels less abstract and more personal. One lover is reaching out to the other, and the urgency now carries a sense of longing instead of just fear.
The last clouds are fleeing, / The last rays are seeing,
Editor's note
The storm starts to ease. Clouds scatter — much like the lovers — as the final rays of light break through. There’s a hint of dawn or clearing, a delicate sense that the worst might be behind us.
Away, away, away! / This is noon — night is gone —
Editor's note
Time has passed; it’s now midday. The darkness of the night flight is behind them. Shelley condenses the entire journey of their escape into a few stanzas, and here we sense the relief of having made it through the night. The lovers have survived.
The golden rivulet / Laughs in the sunlight,
Editor's note
The landscape changes entirely. The fierce storm has turned into a sunlit stream that seems to 'laugh' — a cheerful, personified scene. This is the emotional reward: the once-menacing world now feels joyous, symbolizing the lovers' survival and unity.
Away, away, away! / We are happy, and free,
Editor's note
The final refrain transitions from a sense of urgent demand to a joyful proclamation. "We are happy, and free" — the two things the flight always sought. The poem concludes not in fatigue but in a sense of arrival, with the lovers embracing the freedom they dared everything to discover.
§04Tone & mood
How this poem feels
The tone follows a distinct progression: it starts frantic and stormy, shifts to tender and intimate in the middle, and ends on a joyful note. Shelley uses straightforward, song-like language — this is a lyric to be felt deeply, not analyzed. The urgency stays clear of panic because the lovers' connection maintains warmth throughout, even in the poem's most perilous moments.
§05Symbols & metaphors
Symbols & metaphors
- The storm
- The hail, lightning, and frost aren't merely weather; they symbolize the harsh forces—whether social, political, or personal—that are pushing the lovers away. Shelley experienced exile and persecution firsthand, and the storm vividly reflects that pressure.
- The repeated cry 'Away, away, away!'
- This refrain is the heartbeat of the poem. It acts as both a call to action and a prayer — the lovers motivating each other, determined not to halt. Its repetition echoes the rhythm of pounding feet or a racing heart.
- The laughing rivulet and sunlight
- The shift from storm to sunshine represents a hard-won liberation. The stream that 'laughs' reflects the lovers' emotions: they've navigated through darkness and found a place that's bright and free.
- Night and dawn
- The shift from night to noon mirrors the lovers' transition from danger to safety. Night represents pursuit and fear, while daylight signifies freedom. Shelley employs this classic symbolic contrast with clear and straightforward confidence.
- The fleeing clouds
- When the clouds are called 'fleeing,' they reflect the lovers' own experience. The natural world and human emotions move together, implying that this flight aligns with nature instead of opposing it.
§06Historical context
Historical context
Shelley penned this poem in the early 1820s, towards the end of his brief life, while he was living in Italy. He was, in a way, a fugitive from English society, having faced scandal, debt, and the fallout from his radical views, which made life back home impossible. The poem's theme of two lovers escaping together likely references his own elopement with Mary Godwin in 1814, when they fled to Europe against her father, the philosopher William Godwin’s wishes. Shelley was always drawn to the idea of the outcast or exile who discovers freedom outside the constraints of conventional society. The poem features a song-like structure—short lines, repetitive refrains, and straightforward language—that reflects his belief in lyric poetry being closely aligned with music. This musical quality is also present in two companion poems often linked to this one: "Music, When Soft Voices Die" and "Rarely, Rarely, Comest Thou."
§07FAQ
Questions readers ask
Shelley doesn't specify who they are, but it's evident that they are two lovers escaping from an unknown danger. Many readers link them to Shelley and Mary Godwin's actual elopement in 1814, yet the poem stands strong as a universal tale of two individuals prioritizing their love above all else.
The poem intentionally remains vague. The threat could stem from political persecution, family opposition, social condemnation, or a combination of these factors. Shelley’s life provided ample inspiration for each possibility. This vagueness is a strength, not a weakness — it lends the poem a universal quality.
It acts like a refrain in music — anchoring the poem and providing a driving rhythm. At the same time, it captures the breathless urgency of real flight. Each time it comes back, the emotional context shifts a bit, giving it new weight: first fear, then longing, and finally triumph.
It features short, quick lines that create a strong rhythm—much like a galloping horse. The stanzas revolve around the repeated refrain, "Away, away, away!" This song-like format is a hallmark of Shelley's lyrical style from this time.
The poem begins with a fierce storm—hail, lightning, frost—and concludes in the warmth of sunlight with a cheerful stream. This transition from darkness and cold to light and warmth reflects the lovers' journey from peril to liberation. Shelley employs the natural world as an emotional guide.
It carries deep autobiographical resonance. Shelley ran away with Mary Godwin in 1814, and he lived much of his adult life in a self-imposed exile from England. However, he transforms those experiences into something more universal — a tale of love and freedom that transcends any individual life.
It represents the poem's emotional destination. The entire journey has led to this moment of arrival. Happiness and freedom are intertwined—you can't truly experience one without the other. For Shelley, love that endures persecution becomes a form of freedom in its own right.
It captures the song-like simplicity of 'Music, When Soft Voices Die' and the restless energy of 'Ode to the West Wind.' Shelley frequently revisits themes of flight, freedom, and love's ability to support people in the face of adversity. This poem serves as a concise and approachable representation of those larger themes.
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