Letter to Maria Gisborne

poem by Shelley

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June 30, 2026

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The "Letter to Maria Gisborne" is a poem written by Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1820. It is written in heroic couplets and was published in 1824. The poem reflects Shelley's evolving idealism and his awareness that his visions might appear naive to others. It combines mythic elements with a self-ironic tone, showcasing his artistic development during his time in Pisa, Italy.1

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Percy Bysshe Shelley
Political protest works and poets as the unacknowledged legislators of the world
His “Letter to Maria Gisborne” in heroic couplets and “The Witch of Atlas” in ottava rima (both 1820; published 1824) combine the mythopoeic mode of Prometheus Unbound with the urbane self-irony that had emerged in Peter Bell the Third, showing Shelley’s awareness that his ideals might…
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His “Letter to Maria Gisborne” in heroic couplets and “The Witch of Atlas” in ottava rima (both 1820; published 1824) combine the mythopoeic mode of Prometheus Unbound with the urbane self-irony that had emerged in Peter Bell the Third, showing Shelley’s awareness that his ideals might…
Read More