Shelley

** "Shelley" by John Addington Symonds is a biographical exploration of the life and times of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. The book starts by thinking about how so many great poets die young, and then looks at Shelley's life from when he was born into a well-known family. It tells how Shelley’s own strong beliefs and unique way of seeing the world often caused problems with what other people expected of him; it also gives us an introduction to Shelley's complicated personality, his deep passions, and how his being so different from others made him clash with society. Symonds follows Shelley’s early years, showing his creative imagination and his problems with following rules, which all came together to help him become the amazing artist he was meant to be. Overall, the story paints a picture of Shelley’s early life, teasing the personal troubles and big ideas that would later shape how he wrote poetry and lived his life. **