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Adonais Art and Culture Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Line)

Quote #1

[…] The quick Dreams,
The passion-winged Ministers of thought,
Who were his flocks (73-75)

As a poet, Keats was similar to a shepherd; he had to tend to his thoughts the way a shepherd tends to his sheep. It's hard work, says Shelley, to write poems.

Quote #2

Our Adonais has drunk poison--oh! (316)

In the poem, poison serves as a symbol of negative and unfair criticism. To unfairly tear down a work of artistic merit is comparable to poisoning an innocent person, says the speaker. That's a pretty serious charge.

Quote #3

What deaf and viperous murderer could crown
Life's early cup with such a draught of woe? (317-318)

If criticism is the poison, then the "viperous murderer" is the critic. Shelley didn't mince words here. He thought that unfair criticism killed Keats, and he blamed the critic that wrote it. Don't mess with a poet, apparently.