Adonais Analysis

Firstly, Adonais is a pastoral elegy, written in Spenserian stanzas, a type of meter developed by—you guessed it—Edmund Spenser. Now that's a lot to digest, but don't worry. You'll have time to...

The speaker is never named, but he has a lot in common with Shelley. It's never a good idea to confuse a poet with a speaker, but this guy's mourning the loss of a beautiful youth, just as Shelley...

The poem does its fair share of moving about, but most of the action occurs in otherworldly locations. It's the space of myths, and in this space we find Adonais newly-dead. The gods and personifie...

Any poem that has 495 lines is sure to have a lot going on, sound-wise. Shelley had plenty of tricks up his sleeve to give this elegy a bit of sonic boost. Let's go in for a closer look.Got your to...

Adonais (often named "Adonis"), god of beauty, was a tragic figure in Greek mythology. Though desired by many, some gods were envious of his sex appeal and youth. One such jealous deity, Artemis—...

Shelley sure did love him some iambic pentameter (check out "Form and Meter" for specifics on the metrical form). And why not? It hearkens back to old Latin and Old French, and big-time greats from...

The metaphors, allusions, and symbols may present an obstacle or two, as will some of the outdated terms, but this lengthy trek has plenty of straightforward bits to help you along. Stay the course...

Shelley got expelled from Oxford after writing a pro-Atheism pamphlet. Well, we guess things still worked out for him in the end. (Source.)Shelley was one of the first famous vegetarians. Think the...

Despite featuring the goddess of love, the god of pleasure, and the god of desire, you won't find any funny-business in "Adonais." We guess that's what happens when your main character is six feet...

Chatterton, Thomas, poet (399)Sidney, Sir Philip, poet (401)Lucan, poet (404)Adonais, or Adonis, Greek god of desire and beauty (1, 2, 7, 13, 19, 73, 120, 142, 207, 232, 316, 362, 415, 459, 476, 49...