Shelley Complete Works

Author: Jiang Feng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-12-01
Features: The Chinese translation of Complete Works of Shelley, a 7-volume set totaling over 3 million words, includes Shelley's poetry, dramas, novels, essays, literary theories, and correspondence. Most of the works are newly translated, taking seven years to complete. It is the most comprehensive collection of Shelley's works in China. Shelley was a renowned Romantic poet of 19th-century England. His poems celebrate revolution, criticize tradition, and critique the unreasonable social reality, advocating for pure love. His poetry is flawless, full of passion, and has a clear rhythm. Ode to the West Wind is one of Shelley's representative works, possessing an eternal charm that transcends time. The complete works gather his poems, essays, dramas, essays, and correspondence to present readers with a complete image. Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) was an English poet. Born in Sussex in 1792, his time marked a revolution in English poetry, where protest replaced convention, lyricism replaced didacticism, and freedom replaced restraint. Shelley was one of the Romantic poets who praised revolution and criticized tradition. In August 1811, Shelley eloped with Harriet Westbrook, a friend of his sister, and married her in Edinburgh. In May 1816, in Switzerland, Shelley first met Byron and they admired each other, becoming close friends. On July 8, 1822, Shelley and his friends set sail and encountered a sudden storm, resulting in their boat sinking and his death. Throughout his life, Shelley attacked unreasonable social systems but advocated for reform through education and pure, free love. In late 1818, Shelley moved from England to Italy, transitioning from the dimly lit island nation to the bright and pleasant Mediterranean, which sparked his immense creative enthusiasm. He completed the four-act drama Prometheus Unbound. In the drama, Prometheus is reimagined as an rather than a compromiser with the gods. Shelley's life was a struggle against any form of human oppression, and Prometheus embodies this spirit. In 1819, Shelley wrote the famous Ode to the West Wind. From 1820 until his death in two and a half years, he wrote many poems praising the revolutions of the peoples in Southern Europe, such as Ode to Naples, Liberty, and Hymn to Liberty. His lyric poems include The Cloud, To a Skylark, and To the Moon. Shelley's essays, like his poems, have a bright rhythm. In his poetry, we see him as a philosopher, while in his essays, we see the same passionate spirit as in his poetry. (Jiang Hong compiled)