Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Context

• Written by Percy Bysshe Shelley in December 1818 near Naples.

• Shelley was experiencing profound personal and professional difficulties, including the death of his daughter Clara and tensions in his relationship with Mary Shelley.

• The poem reflects his feelings of isolation, despair, and disillusionment with life.

  

• This context is significant as it underscores the themes of melancholy, longing for connection, and existential contemplation, characteristic of Romantic poetry.

Structure and Form

• The poem consists of five stanzas, each with nine lines.
• The rhyme scheme is ABABBCBCC.
• The meter is primarily iambic, contributing to the lyrical and reflective quality of the poem.
• The use of enjambment and caesura adds to the flow and emotional intensity of the verses.

Key Themes

Isolation and Loneliness

• "I sit upon the sands alone,"
• Shelley's physical isolation on the beach mirrors his emotional solitude and lack of connection with others.

Nature and Beauty

• "The sun is warm, the sky is clear, / The waves are dancing fast and bright,"
• Despite his inner turmoil, Shelley vividly describes the beauty of the natural world, highlighting the contrast between his emotions and his surroundings.

Despair and Resignation

• "I have nor hope nor health, / Nor peace within nor calm around,"
• The repetition of "nor" emphasizes the depth of Shelley's despair and his sense of being deprived of all positive states.

Mortality and Death

• "I could lie down like a tired child, / And weep away the life of care"
• Shelley expresses a desire for release from his suffering through death, viewing it as a peaceful escape.

Contrast between Appearance and Reality

• "Others I see whom these surround— / Smiling they live, and call life pleasure;"
• Shelley contrasts his inner suffering with the outward happiness of others, emphasizing the disconnect between his perception and reality.

Similar Poems

• William Blake's "The Sick Rose": Explores themes of hidden decay and internal suffering.
• William Wordsworth's "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey": Reflects on the contrast between the beauty of nature and personal melancholy.
• George Gordon, Lord Byron's "On This Day I Complete my Thirty-Sixth Year": Shares themes of reflection on mortality, ageing, and disillusionment with life.
• Percy Bysshe Shelley's "The Cold Earth Slept Below": Similar themes of nature's harshness and personal despair.
• John Keats's "Ode to a Nightingale": Contemplates escape from pain through the beauty of nature and the transience of life.

Line by Line Analysis

Stanza 1

The sun is warm, the sky is clear, The waves are dancing fast and bright, Blue isles and snowy mountains wear The purple noon's transparent might, The breath of the moist earth is light, Around its unexpanded buds; Like many a voice of one delight, The winds, the birds, the ocean floods, The City's voice itself, is soft like Solitude's.

"The sun is warm, the sky is clear,"

• The imagery of a warm sun and clear sky creates a serene and inviting atmosphere.

"The waves are dancing fast and bright,"

• The personification of waves "dancing" suggests liveliness and joy in nature.

"Blue isles and snowy mountains wear / The purple noon's transparent might,"

• The vivid imagery of the landscape highlights the beauty and majesty of the natural world.

"The breath of the moist earth is light, / Around its unexpanded buds;"

• The earth's "breath" is described as light, indicating a sense of renewal and potential growth.

"Like many a voice of one delight, / The winds, the birds, the ocean floods,"

• Simile comparing the harmonious sounds of nature to a single voice of joy.

"The City's voice itself, is soft like Solitude's."

• The city's voice is paradoxically compared to solitude, emphasizing the quiet and peaceful environment despite being near a populated area.

Stanza 2

I see the Deep's untrampled floor With green and purple seaweeds strown; I see the waves upon the shore, Like light dissolved in star-showers, thrown: I sit upon the sands alone,— The lightning of the noontide ocean Is flashing round me, and a tone Arises from its measured motion, How sweet! did any heart now share in my emotion.

"I see the Deep's untrampled floor / With green and purple seaweeds strown;"

• Imagery of the ocean floor covered in seaweed evokes a sense of untouched, pristine beauty.

"I see the waves upon the shore, / Like light dissolved in star-showers, thrown:"

• Simile comparing waves to dissolved light in star showers suggests a magical, ethereal quality.

"I sit upon the sands alone,— / The lightning of the noontide ocean / Is flashing round me, and a tone"

• Shelley's solitude on the beach contrasts with the dynamic, flashing ocean around him.

"Arises from its measured motion, / How sweet! did any heart now share in my emotion."

• The measured motion of the ocean creates a soothing tone, but Shelley laments his lack of companionship to share this experience.

Stanza 3

Alas! I have nor hope nor health, Nor peace within nor calm around, Nor that content surpassing wealth The sage in meditation found, And walked with inward glory crowned— Nor fame, nor power, nor love, nor leisure. Others I see whom these surround— Smiling they live, and call life pleasure; To me that cup has been dealt in another measure.

"Alas! I have nor hope nor health, / Nor peace within nor calm around,"

• The repetition of "nor" emphasizes Shelley's sense of loss and deprivation.

"Nor that content surpassing wealth / The sage in meditation found,"

• Shelley envies the contentment found by sages, which eludes him.

"And walked with inward glory crowned— / Nor fame, nor power, nor love, nor leisure."

• He lists the positive aspects of life that he lacks, highlighting his profound discontent.

"Others I see whom these surround— / Smiling they live, and call life pleasure; / To me that cup has been dealt in another measure."

• Shelley contrasts his suffering with the apparent happiness of others, feeling that life has dealt him a harsher fate.

Stanza 4

Yet now despair itself is mild, Even as the winds and waters are; I could lie down like a tired child, And weep away the life of care Which I have borne and yet must bear, Till death like sleep might steal on me, And I might feel in the warm air My cheek grow cold, and hear the sea Breathe o'er my dying brain its last monotony.

"Yet now despair itself is mild, / Even as the winds and waters are;"

• Despite his despair, Shelley finds it mild compared to the gentle forces of nature.

"I could lie down like a tired child, / And weep away the life of care"

• The simile comparing himself to a tired child suggests a desire for rest and release from suffering.

"Which I have borne and yet must bear, / Till death like sleep might steal on me,"

• Shelley reflects on his ongoing suffering and expresses a wish for death to come gently like sleep.

"And I might feel in the warm air / My cheek grow cold, and hear the sea / Breathe o'er my dying brain its last monotony."

• The juxtaposition of warm air and a cold cheek symbolizes the transition from life to death, with the sea's monotony providing a final, soothing sound.

Stanza 5

Some might lament that I were cold, As I, when this sweet day is gone, Which my lost heart, too soon grown old, Insults with this untimely moan; They might lament—for I am one Whom men love not,—and yet regret, Unlike this day, which, when the sun Shall on its stainless glory set, Will linger, though enjoyed, like joy in memory yet.

"Some might lament that I were cold, / As I, when this sweet day is gone,"

• Shelley imagines others mourning his death as he mourns the end of a beautiful day.

"Which my lost heart, too soon grown old, / Insults with this untimely moan;"

• His heart, prematurely aged by sorrow, feels out of place in the beauty of the day.

"They might lament—for I am one / Whom men love not,—and yet regret,"

• He acknowledges that he is not loved by many but imagines that his death might still cause regret.

"Unlike this day, which, when the sun / Shall on its stainless glory set, / Will linger, though enjoyed, like joy in memory yet."

• Shelley contrasts the fleeting nature of his life with the lasting memory of a beautiful day, suggesting that the day's joy will be remembered even after it ends.