American watchman and Delaware advertiser. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1822-1828, 1825-11-01
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY.


NJ S,ellpv was one of those unfortunate beings
m whom the imagination had been eAai'eu anu W
yc,,nsd 4, the expense OF the reasoning faculty
and with the confidence or presumption, OF taien''
h. was perpetually obtruding upon that puoic
rbose anplause he still courted, the startling pfin
rines Of his religious and political creed. re nat
,,,,llv encountered the fate which even the hisnest
talent cauut avert when It sets itself systema.eaiy
m array against opinions which men nave oeen
,aurht 10 believe and To venera,c, ana prihc'pies
with which The malori,y OF mankind are persuaaeo
The safety of society is Connected lie was oenoun
crd as a poecal intdnt perdn by the Quarterly ano
passed over in silence by other periuoicai WORKS.
which, while they were 10th 10 censure, ieit that
,hev could not dare to praise. Whether abuse OF
this nature may not engender, or, al an events ~
crease the evil it Processes 10 cure and whether IN
the cas-. of Shelley as in that OF another great spirit
Of the age his contemporary and HIS trieno, this
conte mp tor received opinions, at hrst Affected may
moi have been rooted and made real by the virulence
with which il was assaed, is question which II Is
difficult 10 answer. But now, when DEATH the great
calmer Of mems minds, has removed from TINS
se-oe of critical warfare its unfortunate subject
when we can turn TO the passages OF pure and ex-
nnsite beauty which brighten even the darkest and
widest Of his poetica wanderngs, WI h that Impair
,iay which it was vain TO expect while the author
lived, and wrote and rayed and resed what mind
Of genus or poe,ica feeling would not wish that his
errors should be buried with him in the bosom OIL
the Mediterranean, and lament that mind SO rul.-
full Of gond as we'll as OF evil should have been taken
from u.s. before is fire had been tempered by expo.
rence and It's troubled but majestic clements had
subsidized into calmness!
We doubt no, that Mr. Shelley, like many other
speculative reiormets aud species, yentured IN theo
re- 70 hazard opinions which in his lie he contra
Jiced. His domestic habits seem TO have been as
different as possible from those which, IN the d. cams
Of dstempered fancy, he has sometimes dwelt
upon wih an alarming frequency and freedom ; %
II The force OF nature and eafy associations had as
serted their paramount sway, III we midst OF MS
acquired feelings, and compelled him, while sur
rounded by those scenes, and IN The presence OF
those beings among whom their pure Impulses arc
must strongly felt, to pay homage TO their power
HIS perfection of poeuca expression will Away
Dive 10 Shelley an original aud distinct characei
among The poets Of he age and IN TINS we have
hule hesitation 10 saying, that we consider hiE' de
.,dedly superior 10 them al. Livery word he uses
even though the idea he iabors 70 express be vague
&c exaggerated, unnatural Is mt hseiy poe lca
III 10 writer Of the age is The distinction getweet
poet and prose strongly maj ked; deprlsc ~
verse Of the rhymes ard still the exquisite 0eauty o
The language, the harmony OF the pau,es, the a.
rangement u the senteoces j. Percepu,ie Tins !:
in Itself taen. oe no ordinary KIND. perfectly sepa
rste in lis nature, though genetaily tou"d uallet
mi,h tn. visur of IMAGINATION which is essential tt
i great poet, and N Mr.. Shelley 1t osrrshado"
even his powers Of conception, which are unques
sionsbly very great. II is by no means improbable
however, ha: this extreme anxiety % embl Gy hi
ideas in ionguage oi lofty and uncommon cast, ma,
nave contributed to that which IS undoubtedly thu
besettlug sin Of hi, poet'y, It's extreme vaguenes
and o5scutity, and Us tendency 10 alegofy and per
soniicaton.
Hence II is ia The vague, unearthly, and myste
fious that the peculiar power OF his mind IS display
ed Like the Goule in The Arabian Tales, he leaye
Toe ordinary food OF men, TO banquet among th'
dead, and revels with melancholy delight IN th'
Aoon Of a churchvatd and the cemetery. He il
h poetry what Sir Thomas Browne is in prose, per
petualy lowering on the confines OF the grave pfy
ing with terrible curiosity into the secrets OF MOT
aiity, and specializing with painful earnestness o.
every thing that dsgusts or appaIs mankind.
But when, abandoning these darker themes, b
Yields himself to the description of the softer emo
ttoOs OF the heart, and the more smiling scenes {
Nature, We know 10 poet who has felt more Intense
IS, or described with more glowing coiors the en-
thusiasm Of love and liberty. the varied aspect
Of Nature. His descriptions have force and clear
ness Of painting which quite adndraoe, and hi
imagery, which he Accommodates and pours fort
Win the ptodig 4itY OF genius, IS Ia general. equA
" appto ,,fiats and or sinal. ~. I. Lat. Gag.
-rs.-z~r4--z--1-------.ex-.
Interesting .iqecdote. When General Lafayette late
lsl 4 No.. 4