P. B. Shelley – Adonais | Summary, Themes & Analysis

P. B. Shelley – Adonais

Adonais (1821) is a pastoral elegy written by Percy Bysshe Shelley on the death of the Romantic poet John Keats. The poem mourns Keats’s early death, criticises hostile critics, and ultimately celebrates the immortality of poetic genius.

Shelley transforms personal grief into a philosophical meditation on death, beauty, and eternal life through art.

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Background of the Poem

John Keats died in 1821 at the age of 25. Shelley believed that cruel literary criticism hastened Keats’s death. The title Adonais comes from Adonis, the beautiful youth of Greek mythology who dies and is reborn.

The poem follows the tradition of the pastoral elegy.

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Form and Structure

• 55 Spenserian stanzas
• Each stanza has 9 lines
• Rhyme scheme: ababbcbcc

The poem moves from grief → protest → consolation → spiritual transcendence.

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Overview of the Elegy Structure

• Stanzas 1–17: Lament for the dead poet
• Stanzas 18–27: Nature and poets mourn Adonais
• Stanzas 28–39: Attack on hostile critics
• Stanzas 40–55: Consolation and immortality

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Stanzas 1–17: Lamentation

The poem opens with deep sorrow over the death of Adonais (Keats). Shelley urges:

• Nature to mourn
• Spring to delay its joy
• the Muse to weep

Keats is portrayed as a gentle, sensitive soul destroyed too soon.

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Stanzas 18–27: Universal Mourning

Nature and mythological figures mourn Adonais:

• Urania (the Muse of Astronomy)
• other poets and spirits
• flowers, winds, and streams

This universal grief elevates Keats from an individual poet to a cosmic figure.

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Stanzas 28–39: Attack on the Critics

Shelley fiercely condemns the critics who attacked Keats. He describes them as:

• vultures
• serpents
• corrupt and ignorant

Shelley argues that critics die forgotten, while poets achieve immortality.

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Stanzas 40–55: Consolation and Immortality

The tone shifts from grief to acceptance. Shelley realises that Keats is not dead but has become part of:

• eternal beauty
• the universe
• the immortal spirit of poetry

The famous line expresses this idea:

“He is made one with Nature.”

Death is seen not as an end, but as liberation from suffering.

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Major Themes

• Death and Immortality – the poet lives on through art.
• Power of Poetry – poetry transcends time.
• Grief and Consolation – sorrow transforms into wisdom.
• Criticism and Envy – hostility destroys critics, not poets.
• Ideal Beauty – poetry as eternal beauty.

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Important Symbols

• Adonais – John Keats.
• Urania – poetic inspiration.
• Vultures – hostile critics.
• Light – immortality and truth.
• Nature – eternal life.

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Adonais as a Pastoral Elegy

The poem follows traditional elegiac conventions:

• invocation of the Muse
• lamentation
• mourning by nature
• attack on enemies
• consolation

Shelley modernises the form with Romantic philosophy.

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Romantic Philosophy in the Poem

• poetry is immortal
• beauty transcends death
• the soul merges with the universe
• nature is eternal

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Critical Analysis

• The poem elevates Keats to a universal symbol.
• Shelley’s grief becomes philosophical insight.
• The attack on critics is intense and controversial.
• The ending affirms transcendence and hope.
• Adonais is one of the greatest Romantic elegies.

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Quick Revision Table

Aspect	Details
Poet	P. B. Shelley
Poem	Adonais
Year	1821
Form	Pastoral Elegy (Spenserian stanzas)
Subject	Death of John Keats
Main Theme	Immortality of poetry
Ending	Spiritual consolation