First appearance in Posthumous Poems, 1824. Draft of The Witch of Atlas , 1820. Bodleian Library, Oxford.The Witch of Atlas is a major poetic work of the English romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley written in 1820 and published posthumously in 1824 in the Posthumous Poems collection. The poem was written in 78 ottava rima stanzas during the period when Prometheus Unbound and The Cloud were written and reflects similar themes. The theme of the poem is a quest for the perfect union. History The Witch of Atlas was composed in three days at the Baths of San Giuliano, near Pisa, Italy from 14 to 16 August 1820, after Shelley had climbed the Monte San Pellegrino mountain on foot. It was published in Posthumous Poems in 1824 edited by Mary Shelley. The work, which Shelley called "a fanciful poem", was dedicated to Mary Shelley, the dedication "To Mary" first appearing in the Poetical Works edition of 1839. Mary Shelley wrote that The Witch of Atlas "is a brilliant congregation of ideas such as his senses gathered, and his fancy coloured, during his rambles in the sunny land he so much loved." She objected, however, that Shelley was "discarding human interest and passion" in favour of "fantastic ideas" which were "abstract" and "wildly fanciful" and "full of brilliant imagery". She argued that Shelley should have written works that were more consonant with the popular tastes of that time: "The surpassing excellence of The Cenci had made me greatly desire that Shelley should increase his popularity by adopting subjects that would more suit the popular taste than a poem conceived in the abstract and dreamy spirit of the Witch of Atlas." Shelley responded in the prefatory verses that she was "critic-bitten ... by some review" and defended the work as "a visionary rhyme". The Witch of Atlas contained Utopian themes that first appeared in Queen Mab (1813).  Plot The plot of The Witch of Atlas revolves around the travels and adventures of a mysterious and mythical Witch who lives in a cave on Atlas' mountain by a secret fountain and who creates a hermaphrodite "by strange art" kneading together fire and snow, a creature, Hermaphroditus, "a sexless thing", with both male and female characteristics, with pinions, or wings. A "fair Shape out of her hands did flow" because "all things together grow/ Through which the harmony of love can pass." In Greek mythology, Hermaphrodite was the offspring of Hermes and Aphrodite. The hermaphrodite is androgynous and synthesises the opposing and contradictory aspects of the creative mind. The hermaphrodite is both the companion and the servant to the Witch. The journeys consist of sailing in the air on an airship and in water on a boat, or pinnace. They travel from the Atlas Mountains to the Austral Lake to the Nile Valley. Nature is explored as are fire and electrical energy. The Witch begins her sojourn from the ancient northern Ethiopian city of Axume. Lake Moeris, an ancient lake southwest of Cairo, Egypt, is visited, as are the Mareotid lakes south of Alexandria. King Amasis of Egypt, Memphis, and the bull god Apis are invoked. The forces of creation and destruction are resolved. The objective is a synthesis or union of contradictions.
First appearance in Posthumous Poems, 1824. The Witch of Atlas is a major poetic work of the English romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley written in 1820 and published posthumously in 1824 in the Posthumous Poems collection. The poem was written in 78 ottava rima stanzas during the period when Prometheus Unbound and The Cloud were written and reflects similar themes. The theme of the poem is a quest for the perfect union. History The Witch of Atlas was composed in three days at the Baths of San Giuliano, near Pisa, Italy from 14 to 16 August 1820, after Shelley had climbed the Monte San Pellegrino mountain on foot. It was published in Posthumous Poems in 1824 edited by Mary Shelley. The work, which Shelley called "a fanciful poem", was dedicated to Mary Shelley, the dedication "To Mary" first appearing in the Poetical Works edition of 1839. Mary Shelley wrote that The Witch of Atlas "is a brilliant congregation of ideas such as his senses gathered, and his fancy coloured, during his rambles in the sunny land he so much loved." She objected, however, that Shelley was "discarding human interest and passion" in favour of "fantastic ideas" which were "abstract" and "wildly fanciful" and "full of brilliant imagery". She argued that Shelley should have written works that were more consonant with the popular tastes of that time: "The surpassing excellence of The Cenci had made me greatly desire that Shelley should increase his popularity by adopting subjects that would more suit the popular taste than a poem conceived in the abstract and dreamy spirit of the Witch of Atlas." Shelley responded in the prefatory verses that she was "critic-bitten ... by some review" and defended the work as "a visionary rhyme". The Witch of Atlas contained Utopian themes that first appeared in Queen Mab (1813). Draft of The Witch of Atlas, 1820. Bodleian Library, Oxford. Plot The plot of The Witch of Atlas revolves around the travels and adventures of a mysterious and mythical Witch who lives in a cave on Atlas' mountain by a secret fountain and who creates a hermaphrodite "by strange art" kneading together fire and snow, a creature, Hermaphroditus, "a sexless thing", with both male and female characteristics, with pinions, or wings. A "fair Shape out of her hands did flow" because "all things together grow/ Through which the harmony of love can pass." In Greek mythology, Hermaphrodite was the offspring of Hermes and Aphrodite. The hermaphrodite is androgynous and synthesises the opposing and contradictory aspects of the creative mind. The hermaphrodite is both the companion and the servant to the Witch. The journeys consist of sailing in the air on an airship and in water on a boat, or pinnace. They travel from the Atlas Mountains to the Austral Lake to the Nile Valley. Nature is explored as are fire and electrical energy. The Witch begins her sojourn from the ancient northern Ethiopian city of Axume. Lake Moeris, an ancient lake southwest of Cairo, Egypt, is visited, as are the Mareotid lakes south of Alexandria. King Amasis of Egypt, Memphis, and the bull god Apis are invoked. The forces of creation and destruction are resolved. The objective is a synthesis or union of contradictions.
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Draft of
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, 1820. Bodleian Library, Oxford.The Witch of Atlas
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Draft of The Witch of Atlas, 1820. Bodleian Library, Oxford.