Shelley did not live to see success and influence, although these reach down to the present day not only in literature, but in major movements in social and political thought.
Shelley je bil eden izmed pomembnejših članov zaprtega kroga vizionarskih pesnikov, drugi čani so bili še Lord Byron, Leigh Hunt, Thomas Love Peacock in njegova druga žena Mary Shelley, ketere najbolj slavno delo je Frankenstein.