The Complete Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley — Volume 1

"The Complete Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley — Volume 1" by Shelley is a collection of the poet's complete and verified poems, likely compiled in the early 20th century. This comprehensive volume includes all his known poetic works, including previously unpublished materials, and is edited with careful textual notes to maintain accuracy in the presentation of his original verses. The opening of the volume outlines the editorial principles behind this edition, emphasizing the importance of the original text as a primary source for comparison against later adaptations. The editor, Thomas Hutchinson, recounts the arduous process of collating early editions and highlights Shelley's unique stylistic traits, including his unconventional punctuation and spelling choices. He also acknowledges the contributions of previous editors and scholars in the ongoing effort to preserve and present Shelley's poetic legacy, all while setting the stage for the upcoming collection of Shelley's imaginative and emotionally charged poetry. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Percy Bysshe Shelley was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achievements in poetry grew steadily following his death, and he became an important influence on subsequent generations of poets, including Robert Browning, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Thomas Hardy, and W. B. Yeats. American literary critic Harold Bloom describes him as "a superb craftsman, a lyric poet without rival, and surely one of the most advanced sceptical intellects ever to write a poem."