| Shelley frequently wrote satire--that is, literary attack. By far his most common satiric form is invective, though burlesque and irony have their significant places in his poetry. Because of his fervent advocacy of a peaceful movement toward democracy, economic and social equality, and tolerant atheism, Shelley often seems to have had no sense of humor, but he did indeed have one that appears in some of his prose and poetry, especially his three burlesques. Unlike most other satirists, Shelley was at times troubled considerably by the genre of satire. Believing as he did that love could apocalyptically transform the universe, he tried not to hate persons, even when those persons, like the Lord Chancellor, had struck at his private life. Shelley's satire shows a trend toward control of anger, just as it shows a trend away from didacticism. The more detached satire that Shelley wrote--burlesque satire, like that in Peter Bell the Third, and ironic satire, like that in The Triumph of Life--appears mostly in the second half of his career. His invective, while appearing throughout his career, shows a general improvement from that in the early works, like Henry and Louisa and Queen Mab, to that in late works, like Hellas.;Had Shelley lived a decade or two longer, he might have continued to improve as a satirist. Although he probably never would have acquired Pope's deftness or commanding satiric voice, and although he was probably too dedicated to reforming the world and too sensitive to the moral danger of satire to write with the flexibility and nonchalance of Byron, he had a talent that he could have developed, particularly in irony. The great poetic impulse of Shelley was not to write satire for the sake of satire, for the sake of lashing out at enemies such as Southey or the Prince Regent and the royal ministers, but rather to promote the visionary regeneration of individuals and ultimately of the entire human race; yet, as his work demonstrates, he could use his satiric impulse in the cause of what he saw as justice and truth. |
