A Poem in Twelve Cantos

Quiz: The Revolt of Islam by Percy Bysshe Shelley

1. Recall – Form: What verse form does Shelley use throughout The Revolt of Islam, and which earlier epic poem is most closely associated with that form?

1. Recall – Structure & Characters: Who are the two central heroes of The Revolt of Islam, and what is the nature of the revolution they lead?

1. Recall – Publication History: Under what title was the poem first published, and why was it quickly suppressed before being revised and rereleased?

1. Recall – Epigraph: The Greek epigraph is drawn from Pindar's Pythian Odes. In your own words, what does the epigraph's image of an unreachable destination symbolize within the poem's larger argument?

1. Comprehension – Preface: In the Preface, Shelley frames the poem as a deliberate experiment. What question is he essentially trying to answer about his readership and the mood of his era?

1. Comprehension – Historical Context: Shelley identifies a widespread cultural despair among idealists of his generation. What specific sequence of historical events does he point to as the cause of this disillusionment?

1. Comprehension – Shelley's Argument on Revolution: According to Shelley's analysis in the poem, why did the French Revolution fail? What does he argue this failure does not prove?

1. Analysis – Symbolism of Love: In The Revolt of Islam, "love" functions as far more than a romantic emotion. What larger principle does it represent, and against what forces does Shelley contrast it?

1. Analysis – Martyrdom and Hope: Laon and Cythna are ultimately defeated and die. How does Shelley reframe their martyrdom so that it supports rather than undermines his optimistic argument about the struggle for freedom?

1. Analysis – Tone and Voice: How would you characterize the tone of the Preface, and in what way does Shelley position himself in relation to canonical poets such as Homer, Shakespeare, and Milton?

Answer Key

1. Shelley uses the Spenserian stanza, a nine-line form most closely associated with Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene.

1. Laon and Cythna are the two heroes; they lead a peaceful revolution against tyranny in a fictional Islamic city.

1. It was first published as Laon and Cythna and was suppressed due to an incest subplot (the protagonists were originally depicted as siblings) and its criticisms of religion. Shelley revised it, removing the incest theme, and rereleased it as The Revolt of Islam in January 1818.

1. The epigraph's image of a paradise that cannot be reached by ordinary means symbolizes an ideal of ultimate freedom and justice that lies beyond conventional paths — representing aspiration toward a goal that is difficult but worth pursuing.

1. Shelley questions whether people still yearn for a better, freer world after witnessing the French Revolution descend into terror and tyranny — specifically, whether hope for human progress has survived that trauma.

1. Shelley refers to the French Revolution's collapse into the Terror, Napoleon's rise to power, and the subsequent restoration of old monarchies across Europe after Napoleon's defeat — a sequence he viewed as a double betrayal of revolutionary ideals.

1. Shelley argues the French Revolution failed because humanity's moral and political readiness had not yet caught up with its desire for freedom — not because freedom itself is unattainable or inherently flawed.

1. Love represents a universal principle of kindness and human unity. Shelley contrasts it with revenge and oppression, presenting it as the only legitimate law that should govern the moral world.

1. Shelley presents their martyrdom not as a final defeat but as a historically recurring and ultimately meaningful sacrifice — part of the long arc of history that continues to move toward justice, making their deaths a source of inspiration rather than despair.

1. The tone of the Preface is urgent, idealistic, yet realistic — functioning almost as a political manifesto that is honest about failure but unwavering in hope. Shelley positions himself alongside great bold creators like Homer, Shakespeare, and Milton to argue that true poets write without fear of critical opinion, implicitly claiming a place in that visionary tradition.