UGOLINO.
(Published by Medwin, “Life of Shelley”, 1847, with Shelley’s
corrections in italics [‘‘].—ED.)
The Annotated Edition
UGOLINO. by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Read aloud in ~1 minOpen reading mode →
Shelley's "Ugolino" recounts the heartbreaking tale from Dante's *Inferno* where Count Ugolino della Gherardesca finds himself locked away with his sons and grandsons, helplessly watching them starve to death in the darkness.
- Themes
- death, despair, family
§01Quick summary
What this poem is about
Shelley's "Ugolino" recounts the heartbreaking tale from Dante's *Inferno* where Count Ugolino della Gherardesca finds himself locked away with his sons and grandsons, helplessly watching them starve to death in the darkness. The poem conveys the deep anguish of a father who must endure the loss of his children while feeling completely powerless to intervene. It's a stark and intense reflection on suffering, guilt, and the limits of what a person can endure.
§02Themes
Recurring themes
§03Line by line
Stanza by stanza, with notes
Now had the hour arrived at which the food / Was wont to be brought in...
Editor's note
Shelley begins by highlighting the grim routine of the prison: mealtimes have become a way for the starving prisoners to track their suffering. When the food ceases to arrive, the prisoners instantly realize they have been abandoned to die. The ordinary detail of a meal schedule brings the horror into sharp focus, making it feel immediate and palpable.
I heard the door below / Of the horrible tower locked up...
Editor's note
The sound of the lock turning serves as the poem's haunting image of doom. Ugolino hears it but stays silent, hoping to shield his children from the harsh reality that they are trapped inside. His silence is a mix of love and a heavy burden—he is the only one who understands the true meaning behind that sound.
I did not weep — I turned to stone within...
Editor's note
Ugolino describes his grief as a kind of turning to stone. He can't cry; the shock is too complete. This image of petrification comes straight from Dante and shows that his usual human emotions have been completely overwhelmed. His children, seeing the anguish on his face, start to weep instead, reversing the natural order where a parent comforts a child.
Anselmuccio, my beloved, said / 'Thou lookest so — Father, what ails thee?'
Editor's note
The children's innocence is the poem's sharpest blade. Little Anselm sees his father's troubled face and asks what's wrong with the straightforward honesty of a child. The tenderness of the small name 'Anselmuccio' — a cherished nickname — makes the moment nearly unbearable. Ugolino is left speechless.
I shed no tear, nor answered all that day / Nor the night after, till another sun...
Editor's note
Ugolino remains silent for an entire day and night. He is trapped within himself, unable to find the words to speak or the tears to cry. When light finally spills into the cell again, it reveals the faces of his starving children — and his own sense of helplessness. Here, time doesn’t tick by in hours but rather drags on through the relentless buildup of suffering.
And when a little glimmer of the sun / Had found its way into that doleful prison...
Editor's note
The thin sliver of light entering the cell creates a cruel irony: it offers no warmth or hope, just enough visibility to highlight the children’s suffering. Light, which usually symbolizes salvation or knowledge, here only exposes despair. Shelley uses this twist to amplify the feeling of abandonment.
I bit both my hands for grief. And they, / Who thought that I did it for hunger, rose...
Editor's note
This is the poem's most devastating moment. Ugolino bites his own hands in anguish, and his children misinterpret the gesture as a sign of hunger — so they offer him their own flesh to eat. The misunderstanding is truly heartbreaking: the children's love and willingness to sacrifice themselves are so pure that they gladly offer to die for their father. Ugolino's grief merges with an unresolvable guilt that he must carry forever.
Then I grew calm, and quieted their grief / With the same words which thou hadst used to me...
Editor's note
Ugolino reassures his children by echoing the comforting words they just shared with him, reflecting their love back to them. This creates a poignant cycle that is both touching and sorrowful: comfort flows between them in a continuous loop, yet it can't prevent the inevitable fate ahead. The poem concludes with the grim realization that they will all perish, leaving Ugolino as the final survivor.
§04Tone & mood
How this poem feels
The tone is deeply grief-stricken and restrained. Shelley keeps the emotion tightly controlled—Ugolino himself won’t weep or speak—which amplifies the sense of anguish. There are moments of heartbreaking tenderness, particularly concerning the children, but the overall atmosphere is one of overwhelming darkness and helplessness. It never crosses into melodrama; the horror remains quiet and intimate.
§05Symbols & metaphors
Symbols & metaphors
- The locked door
- The sound of the tower locking is when all hope fades away. It's the point of no return — the moment Ugolino realizes they are all doomed. The door symbolizes the state's complete control over the individual and the utter lack of mercy.
- Turning to stone
- When Ugolino mentions that grief has turned him to stone, it indicates that his pain has surpassed typical feelings. He is unable to cry, speak, or take action. The stone imagery suggests a form of living death — he is already partially lost even before his children pass away.
- The thin light
- The small beam of sunlight entering the cell is a false dawn. In most poetry, light symbolizes hope or truth, but here it only reveals suffering. It shows nature's indifference — the sun rises and sets, no matter what happens inside the tower.
- Biting his hands
- Ugolino's act of biting his own hands reveals the deep anguish he's unable to communicate in any other way. When his children mistake this gesture for hunger, it takes on a dual meaning: it reflects a father's sorrow and the horrifying possibility—echoing Dante's darker interpretations—that desperation might have pushed him to an even more dreadful act.
- Food and hunger
- The poem uses the withholding of food as a form of execution, but it also explores hunger as a moral and emotional state. The children's willingness to feed their father with their own bodies turns physical hunger into a profound symbol of love taken to its absolute limit.
§06Historical context
Historical context
Shelley created this work as a translation or close adaptation of Cantos XXXII–XXXIII from Dante's *Inferno*, where Ugolino della Gherardesca—a real Pisan nobleman from the thirteenth century—shares his tale with Dante in the frozen ninth circle of Hell. The actual Ugolino was imprisoned in 1288 by Archbishop Ruggieri, who locked him in a tower along with his sons and grandsons, leaving them to starve. During his time in Italy (1818–1822), Shelley immersed himself in Dante's work and crafted several translations and adaptations. This particular version wasn't published during his lifetime; it surfaced in Thomas Medwin's *Life of Shelley* in 1847, complete with Shelley's own manuscript corrections. The poem reflects Shelley's Romantic passion for liberty and his connection to Italian literary tradition, showcasing his horror at political cruelty and the misuse of power.
§07FAQ
Questions readers ask
It’s an adaptation—a thoughtful yet imaginative take on Dante's *Inferno*, specifically Cantos XXXII–XXXIII. Shelley wasn't aiming for a literal, scholarly translation; instead, he was reinterpreting the episode in his unique style while remaining true to Dante's narrative and emotional essence.
Ugolino della Gherardesca was a historical count from Pisa who lived in the thirteenth century. He was involved in the political turmoil of the time, changing sides during the factional conflicts in Pisa. In 1288, his rivals had him imprisoned in the Torre dei Gualandi along with his sons and grandsons, where they were all left to starve. Dante depicted him in Hell not merely as a victim but as a traitor—yet he also crafted one of the most heartbreaking speeches in the entire *Inferno*.
Dante's original text is intentionally vague on this issue, leading to centuries of scholarly debate. The moment when Ugolino bites his hands while his children offer their bodies is at the heart of this discussion. Shelley maintains that ambiguity. The poem neither confirms nor denies cannibalism, which adds to the unsettling nature of the scene.
Shelley draws this directly from Dante: Ugolino claims that grief has turned him into stone. The concept here is that his suffering is so intense it has rendered him unable to express normal emotions. He can't weep, can't speak, can't comfort his children — he's completely frozen. Ironically, it's his silence that makes his children weep for him, completely flipping the parent-child dynamic.
It is the moment of no return. When Ugolino hears the tower lock beneath him, he realizes that no food will arrive and that they are all doomed. He remains silent with his children, but that sound marks the true turning point of the poem — everything that follows is merely the gradual unfolding of a death that has already been sealed.
Shelley spent his final years in Italy, deeply engaged with Dante's works. He was also intensely focused on the issues of political tyranny and its resulting suffering—recurring themes in his own writing. The story of Ugolino provided him with a stark and haunting image of state cruelty: a father and his children killed not through violence but through intentional starvation, left with no options and no compassion.
It’s the emotional high point of the poem. The children watch their father biting his hands and think he’s hungry, so they offer their own bodies as food. This gesture shows pure, selfless love — but it’s heartbreaking because it stems from a misunderstanding. They can’t save him, and he can’t save them. Their love is genuine and all-encompassing, yet utterly powerless.
Shelley passed away in 1822, but his poem wasn't published until 1847, when Thomas Medwin included it in his biography *Life of Shelley*. Medwin had access to Shelley's manuscripts and pointed out the poet's own corrections. During Shelley's lifetime, many of his shorter works and translations were shared only among friends, with printed versions emerging posthumously thanks to biographers and editors.