Skip to content
Storgy

The Annotated Edition

There is a copy amongst the Shelley manuscripts at the Bodleian by Percy Bysshe Shelley

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

Read aloud in ~1 minOpen reading mode →

Shelley shouts for his wife Mary amidst a fierce mountain storm, depicting the Apennine range as a quiet, gray ridge during the day that morphs into a fearsome, storm-walking giant at night.

Poet
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Core theme
Beauty
The PoemFull text

There is a copy amongst the Shelley manuscripts at the Bodleian

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Library, which supplies the last word of the fragment.] Listen, listen, Mary mine, To the whisper of the Apennine, It bursts on the roof like the thunder’s roar, Or like the sea on a northern shore, Heard in its raging ebb and flow _5 By the captives pent in the cave below. The Apennine in the light of day Is a mighty mountain dim and gray, Which between the earth and sky doth lay; But when night comes, a chaos dread _10 On the dim starlight then is spread, And the Apennine walks abroad with the storm, Shrouding... ***

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

Study actions

Take the quizStudy sheet (PDF)

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

Shelley shouts for his wife Mary amidst a fierce mountain storm, depicting the Apennine range as a quiet, gray ridge during the day that morphs into a fearsome, storm-walking giant at night. The poem is a fragment, cutting off right as the darkness and chaos hit their climax. It feels like a love note penned in the heart of a thunderstorm — both intimate and filled with wonder.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. Listen, listen, Mary mine, / To the whisper of the Apennine,

    Editor's note

    Shelley begins by speaking directly to Mary with the affectionate phrase "Mary mine," which feels almost like a gentle lullaby. The use of "whisper" becomes ironic right away, as the following lines reveal that the Apennines are far from silent. This contrast is intentional; he's capturing Mary's focus before unleashing the storm's full intensity on her.

  2. It bursts on the roof like the thunder's roar, / Or like the sea on a northern shore,

    Editor's note

    Now the whisper bursts into two vivid similes — thunder and a northern sea. Both evoke a sense of violence and a relentless rhythm. The mention of the "northern shore" is intriguing coming from an English poet living in Italy; it brings to mind a cold, remote, elemental power that the Mediterranean doesn't quite convey.

  3. Heard in its raging ebb and flow / By the captives pent in the cave below.

    Editor's note

    The sound of the storm reaches the ears of imagined prisoners trapped in a cave beneath the mountain. This reflects a classic Shelleyan technique: he doesn't merely describe nature; he envisions a human consciousness experiencing it. The captives can't see the storm — they can only hear it — adding to its overwhelming and mysterious nature.

  4. The Apennine in the light of day / Is a mighty mountain dim and gray,

    Editor's note

    Shelley shifts focus to the daytime view of the mountain range: sturdy, drab, and nearly forgettable. "Dim and gray" takes away any sense of excitement. This sets the stage for the transformation ahead — the mountains must appear ordinary at first, allowing the night version to truly feel monstrous.

  5. But when night comes, a chaos dread / On the dim starlight then is spread,

    Editor's note

    "Chaos dread" is the central theme of the poem. Night doesn't merely darken the mountain—it brings forth something formless and frightening. The starlight is referred to as "dim," indicating that even the sky provides no solace or clarity. Everything familiar gets consumed.

  6. And the Apennine walks abroad with the storm, / Shrouding...

    Editor's note

    The mountain is depicted as a giant moving through the night with the storm. The phrase "Walks abroad" gives it a sense of power and threat — it's not just being battered by the elements; it is *part* of the weather. The line ends abruptly at "Shrouding," creating a sense of tension at the poem's most intense point, with the giant caught in action, its cloak half-lifted.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone shifts in two distinct ways. The opening lines feel personal and almost whispered — like a husband gently calling to his wife. Then the poem picks up speed, becoming something both beautiful and unsettling, filled with roaring, rage, and dread. By the end, the atmosphere is truly eerie. Shelley masterfully blends both registers: this is a love poem set within a horror scene, and the tension between these two elements is what gives the fragment its power.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

The Apennine mountains
The mountain range embodies nature's duality — it's passive and gray during the day, yet transforms into a vibrant, stormy presence at night. While it is a physical landscape, it also represents the sublime: a force that is both beautiful and frightening.
The captives in the cave
The imprisoned figures who can only *hear* the storm embody human vulnerability in the face of nature. They are deprived of sight, left to experience pure sensory overload. There’s likely a political layer to this as well — Shelley was a radical, and for him, captivity was never merely a metaphor.
Day versus night
Daylight in the poem represents the ordinary, the visible, and the controllable aspects of life. In contrast, night symbolizes transformation, chaos, and the unleashing of hidden forces. This theme often appears in Romantic poetry: darkness doesn't merely hide things; it uncovers what daylight tends to suppress.
The storm
The storm represents both actual weather and a symbol of creative and emotional energy. Shelley famously used wind and storms as metaphors for poetic inspiration — as seen in *Ode to the West Wind* — so this storm likely holds that same mix of destructive and generative power.
"Shrouding" (the cut-off word)
The fragment cuts off mid-action, showing the mountain as it obscures something. Since a shroud is a burial cloth, the unfinished word suggests themes of death and concealment. This sense of incompleteness in the poem reflects the image: something is being covered, hidden, or removed.

§06Form & structure

Form & structure

Meter
iambic tetrameter
Rhyme
AABBCCDDDBBB·

§07Historical context

Historical context

Shelley wrote this fragment while living in Italy with Mary from 1818 until his tragic drowning in 1822. The Apennines, the mountain range that runs down the Italian peninsula, were a constant backdrop in their lives. This time was both highly productive for Shelley and filled with sorrow; the couple faced the loss of two young children during their stay in Italy, and the isolation took a toll on them both. The poem exists only as a manuscript at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, and it remains unfinished, with the last word added by an editor. It belongs to the tradition of Shelley's storm poems, most notably *Ode to the West Wind* (1819), where fierce weather serves as a means to explore themes of power, inspiration, and mortality. The personal address to Mary adds a sense of domestic warmth to this fragment that his more grandiose odes sometimes lack.

§08FAQ

Questions readers ask

Who is "Mary" in the poem?

Mary is Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the wife of Shelley and the author of Frankenstein. The two were living in Italy when this fragment was written, and the direct address — "Mary mine" — gives the poem an intimate tone, as if it's being shared aloud in a cozy room during a storm, rather than presented as a formal literary work.

Why is the poem unfinished?

We can't say for sure. Shelley left behind many fragments, and this particular one exists only in a manuscript at the Bodleian Library. He may have just moved on, or perhaps some pages were lost along the way. The poem cuts off at "Shrouding," right in the middle of a word, which an editor later filled in based on the context. This sense of incompleteness has become part of its identity.

What is the Apennine?

The Apennines are a mountain range that stretches about 1,200 kilometers along the Italian peninsula. Shelley and Mary lived in different Italian cities and towns from 1818 to 1822, making these mountains a constant backdrop in their lives. In this context, Shelley portrays them not just as a geographic feature, but as a singular, imposing presence.

How does this poem connect to Ode to the West Wind?

Ode to the West Wind (1819) is Shelley's best-known storm poem, revolving around a central theme: the fierce power of nature is alive, transformative, and intertwined with human creativity. Both poems treat the storm as more than just weather. This fragment is more intimate and personal, yet it explores the same imaginative space.

What does "the sublime" mean, and does this poem use it?

The sublime, as the Romantics defined it, refers to a natural experience that's so vast or powerful that it leaves you feeling overwhelmed — a blend of awe and fear. This poem exemplifies that perfectly. The mountain that "walks abroad with the storm," the captives who can only hear the chaos above, and the darkness that swallows the starlight — all these elements aim to evoke that sensation of being insignificant in the face of something immense.

Why does Shelley compare the storm to captives in a cave?

It's a way to amplify the sound. If you're stuck underground and can only hear the storm — unable to see it or escape — the noise becomes overwhelming and frightening. Shelley uses the captives as a way for readers to experience the storm's intensity rather than just witness it. There's also a political edge: Shelley was a lifelong critic of tyranny, and the theme of captivity held significant meaning for him.

What is the rhyme scheme and meter?

The poem features rhyming couplets consistently, primarily in iambic tetrameter (four beats per line), creating a rhythmic flow that feels almost like a spell or a song. This musicality aligns beautifully with the opening "Listen, listen." The couplets maintain a tight, energetic pace that complements the poem's stormy theme.

Is this poem typical of Shelley's style?

Yes and no. The storm imagery, the personification of nature, and the political themes (the captives) are all classic Shelley. However, the direct and tender address to Mary is less typical in his published work — it feels more personal than his grand odes. The fragmentary form also removes the intricate structure found in poems like Prometheus Unbound, resulting in something more raw and immediate.

Citation

Cite this poem

MLA

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "There is a copy amongst the Shelley manuscripts at the Bodleian." Storgy, https://storgy.com/poems/there-is-a-copy-amongst-the-shelley-manuscripts-at-the-bodleian-percy-bysshe-shelley/.

APA

Shelley, P. B. (n.d.). There is a copy amongst the shelley manuscripts at the bodleian. Storgy. https://storgy.com/poems/there-is-a-copy-amongst-the-shelley-manuscripts-at-the-bodleian-percy-bysshe-shelley/

TeacherAP Lit Q1 scaffold — preview

Row A — Thesis

1 pt

In his fragment addressed to Mary, Shelley transforms the Apennine mountains from a passive geographic feature into an agent of sublime terror, arguing through escalating sonic and visual imagery that nature's power is most fully felt not …

  • Row B — Evidence + Commentary4 pts
  • Row C — Sophistication1 pt
  • Common student errors
Unlock the full scaffold

Available on any Storgy plan — model paragraphs, band callouts, and common student errors for every poem.

The study desk

Teaching materials and reference tools prepared for this poem.

InteractiveSelf-test

Take the quiz on this poem

Test your reading directly on the page — instant scoring, no signup, no printing.

ReferenceMLA · APA · Chicago

Cite this poem

A properly formatted citation for your essay or bibliography, typeset by deterministic rules — no AI involved.

Adjacent texts in the archive

More by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Browse all Percy Bysshe Shelley poems →

Themes in this poem

Poems about BeautyPoems about FearPoems about LovePoems about Nature

Compared with

Compare this poem with any other →

Poetry tools

Analyze another poem →Rate your own poem →Check rhyme & meter →