Percy Bysshe Shelley
Ⅰ．Brief Introduction to the Poet
1．Life Story
Percy Bysshe Shelley is one of the leading Romantic poets，an intense and original lyric poet in the English language．Shelley was born into awealthy family at Sussex，south-eastern coastof Scotland in 1792．His father was a conservative and narrow-minded country gentleman and hismotherwas a beautifulwoman．Shelley was gentle and kind by nature，but he showed an inclination for independent thinking and a strong love of literature．His rebellious qualities were cultivated in his early years because he could not stand any injustice．
He was sent to study at Eton，but he disliked the life there．He seldom joined in the ordinary school games．He would wander about by himself，watching the clouds and the birds，or reading books of different kinds．At Eton he was known as“Mad Shelley”for he showed dislike to the cruel fagging system，according to which the younger school-boys should obey the older boys and acted as servants to the older ones，and should bear a great deal of cruel treatment．He was disliked by the teachers for his love of freedom and independence．At that time he was deeply influenced by the utopian-socialist doctrines of a radical philosopher，William Godwin．
At18，he went to Oxford from Eton，where he took part in progressive activities and soon came into sharp conflictwith the reactionary university authorities．In 1811 Shelley wrote and published an anti-religion pamphlet The Necessity of Atheism，denying the existence of God，believing that religious was an instrument of oppression．Not only did he scatter copies of his book over the counters and in the windows of the bookseller's shelf himself，but also he posted it to all the bishops and heads of the colleges in the university．For this he was expelled from the university and disowned by his father．
Shelley became a homeless man．While living alone in London，he got to know a schoolgirl of 16，Harriet，who was attracted by Shelley's revolutionary belief，promptly left school and refused to return or even to listen to her parents upon the subjects．Later they gotmarried．For two years the young couple wandered about England，Ireland and Scotland．
When Shelley returned to England，the English government was applying the threat of capital punishment to suppress the working classmovements and progressive publications．At thismoment，Shelley wrote his first important poem Queen Mab，which is a long allegorical work about past，present and future state of the world，which was called by Marx“the Chartists Bible”．
Shelley'smarriage with Harriet had proved hasty and unsuita-ble，because the girl was too young to share his ideas．During the two years of their marriage，the lack of mutual understanding between them continued to increase．The unhappy union was dissolved in 1814．In 1816 Shelley married Mary Godwin，the daughter of William Godwin，the radical philosopher．Shelley's secondmarriage was a happy one．Mary herself was a writer．She understood her husband and shared her husband's ideas．But their peaceful lifewas damaged by the sudden death of Harriet，who drowned herself in a river．The death of Harriet left Shelley a bad repute as an“immoralist”．A great scandalwasmade outof itby Shelley's political enemies．Hewas forced to leave England in 1818 and spentall the rest of his life in Italy．
As early as 1816，Shelley began his friendship with Byron．While in Italy he and Byron formed a close collection with each other and from then on the two poets have been linked up forever．
Since his settlement in Italy，Shelley kept close tieswith the I-talian people，who were fighting for their independence．But unexpected death cut short his life．On July 8，1822 while he was sailing in a small boat along the coast of Italy，a sudden tempest struck his boat and he was drowned．His body was burned by Byron and the ashes buried in Rome．The inscription on his tombstone reads:“Percy Bysshe Shelley，COR CORDIUM”．(=The Heart of Hearts)
The news of Shelley's death was received by the reactionaries with undisguised joy．Meanwhile the English people have ever cherished hismemory and poetrywith love．Mary Shelley did a good job in collecting and editing his poems，and her explanatory notes have been helpful to all editors and readers of Shelley'sworks．
2．Literary Career
Shelley's first long poem of importance Queen Mab waswritten in 1813，which contains almost all hismajor social and political ideas．It is written in the form of a fairy-tale dream．Through the mouth of the fairy queen，the poet presents his own views on philosophy，religion，morality and social problems．The poem is a revolutionary condemning tyranny and exploitation and unjust war waged by the rich to rob people ofwealth．However as a youngman at that time，Shelley wasmerely a Utopian-socialist in views，looking forward to a happy future formankind but rejecting the path of revolution by violence．The poem was rejected with greathostility by reactionary critics and its publication was forbidden by the English government．But the readers loved it．The poem was frequently quoted in the English working-class periodicals of the 19th century．
All through Shelley's life he wrote many poems．Many critics regard Shelley as one of the greatestof all English poets．They point especially his lyrics．Shelley expressed his love for freedom and his hatred towards tyranny in several of his lyrics，Ode to Liberty，Ode to Naples，Men of England，etc．，among which the last is one of his greatest political lyrics．
In 1819，the infamous“Peterloo Massacre”took place．Though Shelley was then far away from England，the news had its far-reaching effect upon the poet and marked a turning point in his views on the question ofwhether the workers should use arms in de-fense against their exploiters and oppressors．Before thatevent Shelley had shared Godwin's theory of a peaceful revolution and of passive resistance to tyranny．However after1819 hewrote a number of poems in which he becamemoremilitant and called on the English people to rise up and fight against the ruling class．Men of England is a poem as such，which is unquestionably one of Shelley's greatest political lyrics．It is notonly awar cry calling upon allworking people of England to rise up against their political oppressors，but also an address to point out to them the intolerable injustice of economic exploitation．The poem was later becoming rallying cry of the British Communist Party．The poem Prometheus Unbound was another one of this group，which is regarded as hismasterpiece．
A great number of Shelley's lyrics deal with the themes of nature and of love such as Ode to the West Wind，To a Skylark and The Cloud，among which Ode to the West Wind is the best known lyrical poem on nature．In the poem，the autumn wind，burying the dead year，preparing for a new spring，becomes an image of Shelley himself as he wants to be，in its freedom，its destructive-constructive potential，its universality．Here the poet eulogizes the west wind as a powerful phenomenon of nature that is both destroyer and preserver，that enjoys boundless freedom and that has the power to spread message far and wide．The poet shows his wish for himself and his fellowmen to share the freedom of thewestwind and remember his own and common enemies．The dominantmood in this poem is that of hope rather than despair．The note of optimism shows at once the poet's critical attitude toward the ugly social reality of his day and his faith in a bright future for humanity．
Shelley was not only a great poet，but also a great theorist of poetry．He pointed out the social role of poetry．According to him poetry alone could free man and offer the mind a wider view of its powers．Poetry is a more direct representation of the actions and passions of our internal being．It is through language that the imagination must readily apprehend the ideal order of truth．Shelley declared his intention in the poem The Revolt of Islam，in which he wrote，“Of kindling within the bosoms ofmy readers a virtuous enthusiasm for those doctrines of liberty and justice，that faith and hope in something good，which neither violence normisrepresentation nor injustice can ever totally extinguish amongmankind．”
ADefence of Poetry is Shelley's chiefwork of literary criticism．In this essay Shelley spoke against Peacock's view that poetry is only an ornament of life，that poetry taking its origin in relatively primitive and simplemodes of thought，must inevitably decline with the progress of civilization，and in an age of rationality，such as the 19th century，poetry can only be something out of its proper time，which is barbaric and absurd．From Shelley's pointof view，poetry，so far from being deteriorated andmade powerless by the advance of civilization，is actually the indispensable agent of civilization．In hiswords，“Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world”and poetry can play a very important part in the spiritual life of society．He said，“the role of the poet as the happiest，the best，the wisest and the most illustrious of men．”He eulogized poetry as“something divine”and“The record of the best and happiestmo-ments of the happiest and bestminds．”This emphasis on the social educative role of poetry was not only an answer to Peacock，but actually served as a strong retort to the poetic theory and practice of the Lake poets，represented by Wordsworth，etc．
What ismore Shelley carried out his literary theory in his own poetic workswhere not only social and revolutionary themes abound but even his seemingly fantastic，allegorical poems usually have reference to social evils or to the poet's hopes and fears in reaction to the social environment of his day．As radical in his early days，Shelley remained radical to the end of his life．He not only spoke for the cause of freedom，political and social affairs in his native land and abroad，but also advocated revolution against political tyranny and against economic exploitation;later in his life he even called on the people to rise up in armed struggle for the overflow of their oppressors and exploiters．
Shelley has been widely known and read in China since the May 4th Movement in 1919 and a number of his poems have been translated into Chinese language．However in China as well as in England and elsewhere，he has usually been praised chiefly for his lyrics on nature and love，and much attention has been paid to the beauty of his poetic form，but the revolutionary content in many of his poems has been unfortunately overlooked．
3．Features of His Poem s
As one of the leading Romantic poets，an intense and original lyric poet in English language，he has a reputation as a difficult poet:erudite，imagistically complex，full of classical andmythological allusions．His style abounds in personification and metaphor and other figures of speech which describe vividly whatwe see and feel，or expresswhat passionatelymoves us．
Ⅱ．Brief Introduction to the Selected Literary Work
Prometheus Unbound
1．Brief Summary of the Play
Prometheus Unbound is a lyrical drama，which has generally been considered as one of Shelley'smost importantworks and rightly because it represents Shelley's intense hatred for tyranny and his great admiration for revolutionary fighters for freedom and also because it iswritten in poetry，though there is in the drama toomuch fantasy and toomuch emphasis on love as the all-important element in the struggle．The play is based on Aeschylus's tragedy Prometheus Bound，an ancientGreekmythology．It followed rather closely the original Greek myth，but Shelley altered the ending of the story to its opposite and wrote his Prometheus Unbound．According to the story，Prometheus is a god in Greek myth．He is the champion of humanity．He steals fire from heaven and teachesmen how to use it．For this Zeus，the supreme God，chains him to a rock of Mt．Caucasus，where during the day time a vulture feeds on his liver，which would be restored each succeeding night．At the end of the story，Prometheus reconcileswith the tyrant Zeus．So the figure of Prometheus has been symbolic of those noble-hearted revolutiona-ries，who devote themselves to the just cause of the people and suffer great pains at the hands of tyrants．
The story in Shelley's drama is borrowed from Prometheus Bound，but Shelley gives the myth his own interpretation．He thinks that the ending of the story is intolerable，so in his play he expresses his faith in the ultimate victory of people．Here Prometheus representsmankind itself and Zeus，a symbol of all reactionary institutions．The image of Prometheus to Shelley has 4 noble qualities:man's shaping intellect，his heroic endurance，the defiance against tyranny and the love ofmankind．Though chained to the rock，Prometheus has“greatallies”in theworld．He is supported by innumerable forces．Mother Earth gives him strength to endure all sufferings and sends the spirit of heroes and martyrs to cheer him．Lovely shapes of Faith and Hope hover around him．His bride Asia，the spirit of love and goodness awaits him in the distance．Thus inspired with a firm confidence in the final triumph of his just cause，Prometheus rather than giving in to Zeus，the allpowerful ruler among the gods，remains rebellious to the end when he is free from his chains and Zeus is overthrown．Prometheus in the play is described as a hero of“courage，and majesty and firm and patientopposition to omnipotent force”．Prometheus is the representative of Shelley's heroes，who do not rebel against tyranny single-handedly，but are supported by Earth，hismother，and by A-sia，his bride，and the help from Demogorgon and Hercules and they generally struggle for the collective happiness or bliss of a whole nation or of all humanity，rather than fighting for their per-sonal happiness．To the lastmoment the hero refuses to give in to the injustice of the heavenly tyrant．As Prometheus throws off his fetters the whole world celebrates his liberation．Thus in the play Shelley，the champion of freedom，changes the old myth to express his political and philosophical views．
2．Theme of the Play
Imagination asman's greatest source of power is the theme of this play．Shelley distinguishes between reason and imagination and shows that imagination is the only way people can expand their thinking and overcome their situation tomove forward．Shelley suggests that imagination isman's greatest source of power，while reason can limit a person and lead to make the wrong decisions．The major way this theme is expressed is through the events involving Prometheus's downfall，punishment，and his ability to release himself from that punishment．In this way，imagination becomes the opposite of rational thinking，since rational thinking is constrained and imagination is unconstrained．In this context，imagination is referring to unlimited thinking that is capable of thinking beyond any limitations．
Ⅲ．Latest Critical Commentary
波西·比希·雪莱是英国19世纪初期著名的浪漫主义诗人。在英国诗歌史上，雪莱的抒情诗是出类拔萃的，想象丰富，音韵和谐，比喻美妙，哲理深刻。他的诗歌不仅鲜花般清新温馨，给人以美的享受，而且又像号角一样，激越豪放，给人以奋发的力量，鼓舞着人们向着光明美好的未来前进，他的诗歌表达了欧洲十九世纪初期最先进的思想。雪莱是马克思最喜欢的诗人之一，被马克思誉为“从头到脚是个革命者”，被恩格斯誉为“天才的预言家”。雪莱所处的时代正值法国资产阶级大革命和神圣同盟反动复辟的时代，反动保守势力如沉沉乌云笼罩全欧，政治斗争尖锐激烈，此时此刻贵族出身的雪莱透过黑暗，看到了未来的曙光。诗人运用诗歌这一特殊武器，勇敢、坚定地向一切保守势力发起了猛烈的进攻。雪莱虽出身贵族，但他的很多作品都是谴责封建专制与暴政，反对宗教迷信，宣扬自由民主、平等博爱，主张通过教育手段来改革社会。雪莱所具有的这种叛逆精神在他的诗剧《解放了的普罗米修斯》中得到了淋漓尽致的体现。整个诗剧象征着未来的社会变革，表达了诗人反对专制统制，反对宗教迷信，提倡自由、平等、博爱和人权，鉴于此雪莱被称为诗坛上的普罗米修斯。(徐倩竹，2002)近年来关于雪莱及其诗作的研究大致可以分为以下几个方面:《解放了的普罗米修斯》与《被绑的普罗米修斯》的关系研究、雪莱诗歌的主题研究、雪莱的诗学思想研究、雪莱诗歌的象征意义研究等方面。
《解放了的普罗米修斯》与《被绑的普罗米修斯》的关系研究
《解放了的普罗米修斯》是一部自由斗争的宣言，其中充满了对独裁统治的反抗和对自由的向往。该诗取材于古希腊悲剧作家埃斯库罗斯的《普罗米修斯》三部曲，在作品中通过描写普罗米修斯和宙斯的冲突，埃斯库罗斯提出了人和神的冲突、正义力量和邪恶力量冲突等论题。虽然《普罗米修斯》三部曲的后两部《普罗米修斯的被释》和《带火的普罗米修斯》已失传，但研究者们推断出普罗米修斯最后以和解的态度结束同宙斯的冲突，宙斯命令赫拉克勒斯释放了普罗米修斯。雪莱在《解放了的普罗米修斯》的序言中指出，他根本反对那种软弱无力的结局，叫一位人类捍卫者同那个人类压迫者去和解。因此，他为诗剧设计了战斗的、胜利的结局:普罗米修斯被赫拉克勒斯救出，他派精灵向人类宣布了普罗米修斯被解放的消息，整个宇宙沐浴“爱”的光辉，人类万物幸福欢欣。这样雪莱依据自己的认知来理解人物性格的发展逻辑，在不改变埃斯库罗斯作品中赋予普罗米修斯作为人类拯救者、殉道者、先驱者的性格内核的思想下，他对《被绑的普罗米修斯》中冲突结局进行重新阐释。在他的诗中他排除了普罗米修斯与朱比特和解的可能性，让普罗米修斯不曾低下高傲倔强的头颅，最后朱比特被冥王推翻，赫拉克勒斯为永不屈服的普罗米修斯松绑。此外雪莱为了保持自己诗作作为续作与埃斯库罗斯剧作的同质性和连贯性，在创作时诗人还遵循原作提供的基本冲突。(王维桑，1995)
雪莱在他的诗作中的创新之处在于，他把普罗米修斯与萨登、朱比特父子之争写成人类命运攸关的社会冲突，普罗米修斯为了捍卫人类的权益，他从人伦道德和政治层面谴责、反抗专横跋扈的朱比特而受到惩罚。其次雪莱在诗作中除了强化普罗米修斯的坚定性和忍耐力之外，他还调整了普罗米修斯对待朱比特的情感和态度。雪莱笔下的普罗米修斯身上所具有的是正义感和自豪感，而不是埃斯库罗斯笔下普罗米修斯所具有的拯救人类的责任感和负罪感。在创作中引入大量的希腊神话也是雪莱的创新之处。他笔下的大地母亲既是朱比特统治下的一个受难者，又是朱比特给人类带来一切罪孽的见证人。从她那里普罗米修斯获得与朱比特抗衡的精神力量。她作为地上与地下一切物类的母亲，成为普罗米修斯和朱比特压迫的宇宙一切生灵的媒介。这样雪莱使他塑造的普罗米修斯在与朱比特对抗时有了广大的被压迫的人类作后盾。这不同于悲剧中的普罗米修斯，只是靠个人的意志力与宙斯为代表的神族的强大实力较量，处于势单力薄的地位。在描写普罗米修斯和海神女儿阿西亚的爱情时，更是该诗具有独创性的部分。作者巧妙借助阿西亚妹妹的梦境，让阿西亚和普罗米修斯的生命糅合在一起，以虚幻形态写出他们爱情灼热真诚的纯度和深度。使他们的爱情披上神话的外衣，就其情爱的思想基础、心理感受、和情感体验等方面，审视其社会、心理内容，都体现出现代性爱的特征。这样普罗米修斯走下神坛，成为一个实实在在的英雄。
也有学者认为雪莱笔下的人物既概括了资产阶级革命家反抗专制统治、争取自由解放的革命精神和不畏强暴的英雄气慨，也集中体现了诗人自己坚定的立场、伟大的道德和崇高的精神境界。(徐倩竹，2002;姜莉霞，2006)正如诗人在诗剧的《序言》中所说:“我所创作的形象，有许多都是从人类心灵活动，或是他们表现在外面的行为中吸取来的”。雪莱还表示，他是怀着“改良世界的欲望”来创作这部作品的，其目的是“使一般爱诗的读者们细致的头脑里，记住一些高尚美丽的理想”。这部披着浪漫主义外衣的诗剧，实际上植根于19世纪初期的英国现实社会，是现实生活的阶级斗争和诗人的政治思想的曲折反映。它真实揭露了专制统治给人民带来的痛苦和灾难，热情赞扬了人民群众反抗专制统治的革命精神和英雄气概，表达了诗人建立自由平等的美好社会的崇高理想。
这部诗剧赋予古希腊神话以新的活力。在诗中雪莱把人类的过去、现在和未来揉合在一起，这是一个广阔的历史视野，借此雪莱发现了人类社会运动的普遍规律:人类历经灾难和苦痛，人类的解放漫长而艰难，而且必须以牺牲、反抗和斗争来取得，但是大同世界必然到来，一个建立在正义和自由基础上的人类新秩序已经露出了她的俏容。这就是雪莱的《解放了的普罗米修斯》和普罗米修斯这个伟大形象所要传递的信息。
雪莱诗歌的主题研究
雪莱的诗歌，主要集中在三个主题上:社会、自然、人生。雪莱的政治诗歌使他成为积极浪漫主义诗人的代表人物。在以人为主题的诗歌中，他赞颂了纯洁的爱情，揭示了人生的哲理和生活的奥秘。(刘杰、乔洪亮，2005)雪莱的大部分诗歌都是以当时的阶级斗争和政治斗争为主题的。作为积极浪漫主义诗人，雪莱成长于英国国内工人斗争和欧洲民族解放运动高涨时期。他的创作鲜明地反映出西欧进步的资产阶级民主倾向，他始终同情法国革命，同情民族解放运动和工人运动。在他的政治诗歌里，雪莱塑造了许多与社会对立的叛逆性格，通过他们的个人反抗，表达了作家反对封建专制、反对教会反动统治的思想情绪。他在否定和批判黑暗社会的同时，也表达了对自由和美好未来的渴望。对于这一点有的学者们也有不同的看法，他们认为以雪莱和拜伦为代表的这些英雄只是作为艺术先锋或审美精英而存在的，他们都远离了真正的社会革命，他们所作的只是诗化革命和审美表演。他们挥舞的大刀只是舞台表演的道具，根本不具备现实意义上的杀伤力和破坏力。这样的英雄只是舞台上的演员，根本不是现实世界中的革命者。他们的表演从审美意义上来看确实壮丽辉煌，但留给观众的也仅仅是几声叹息。(张旭春，2004)
如果说雪莱的政治诗歌使他成为积极浪漫主义诗人的代表人物，那么雪莱关于自然的诗歌则使他成为英国浪漫诗歌中最响亮的一个音符。在自然诗歌方面，雪莱诗歌的主要特点是赋予大自然以生命，使大自然的意象富有灵性和活力。雪莱自然诗中的大自然形象充满生命和动感，在大自然的壮丽图景中处处洋溢着革命的战争内容。他注重把自然景物描写与社会状态以及人的心境紧密结合起来，通过各种方式进行表象与现实、现在与未来的对照，来表现自然的美景、人间的苦难、现实的郁闷、未来的理想。在学者们看来他笔下的大自然，是自由的力量，生命的跃动;与大自然内在的律动相对比，社会不公和人奴役人的现象就变得更加明显和醒目，大自然是雄伟而美丽的，绝无被压迫的人类所遭受的苦难;大自然可以加强人对生活、自由的爱以及斗争的意志。(缪灵珠，1984)在自然抒情诗方面，最具有代表性的是被称为雪莱抒情诗“三部曲”或“三颂”的《云》、《致云雀》和《西风颂》。
雪莱除了创作与政治和自然为主题的诗歌之外，他还创作了许多以人为主题的佳作。这类诗歌多半具有强烈的自传色彩，是他心灵发展的记录。不仅记录了他曲折生活中复杂的体验，而且也展现了他的基本的人生观。他所创作的有关人生主题的诗歌中，最有成就的是他的爱情诗篇。他笔下的恋情没有空洞无物的浮夸矫饰，他追求的是真诚、是崇高的心灵与心灵之间最高境界的自然沟通与融汇，同时闪烁着理想、乐观和希望的光泽。
有学者认为在雪莱的诗中频繁出现的另一个主题是正义与自由。(秦丽萍，1999)正是由于雪莱对人类充满信心，相信人自身所具有的力量，因此他的诗作充满了对于人类社会未来的憧憬与希望。同时雪莱也十分注重对现实社会的批判，但他的批判着重在私有制对人的损害及人剥削人现象的社会政治根源，由此衍生出雪莱思想结构中两个互相联系的基本观念:社会正义和人类自由。可以说，正义和自由的观念贯穿了雪莱整个创作过程，也是他看待现实、审视人类的基本价值趋向。伴随着雪莱作为一个社会变革者和战士的成长和成熟，正义与自由的内涵也在不断地被深化，逐渐演化，层层递进，最终发展为思想者雪莱的一个最醒目的标识。因浪漫主义者固有的内在矛盾，雪莱的正义和自由观念还带有某些道德说教和社会空想的性质。如果把雪莱的整个创作按时间划分为三个时期:从爱尔兰归来后，于1813年完成长诗《麦布女王》为第一时期，1813年至1818年放逐前为第二时期，1818年永远去国后为第三时期(意大利时期)。那么，在第一时期中，由于他厌恶自己的贵族出身和特权，对上层社会的傲慢和丑恶采取了敌视态度，使得雪莱精神气质中最突出的特点是叛逆。在第二时期，雪莱思想中的正义自由观念呈现出无限发散的形态，在其政治哲学论著、长诗短诗、政治抒情诗、歌咏大自然的抒情诗中，摆脱专制暴政、争取自由解放的情感犹如一股奔涌不息的潜流贯穿其中。雪莱也因此获得了思想发展的广阔空间，其对社会的批判也更有力量和说服力。在雪莱的政治抒情诗中，争取自由的斗争热情是其基本趋向。雪莱离开英国前最重要的长诗，是《伊斯兰的叛变》，是此时期的代表作。这首诗在思想和艺术上都有所发展，其主要特点是:斗争精神贯穿整部作品。雪莱设置了构成该长诗内在结构张力的基本内容:象征自由的力量与专制暴政的斗争。该诗具有浓厚的生活气息和现实内容，而其中雪莱所传达的自由、正义、斗争的观念不仅以广阔的社会运动为背景，而且是以厚重扎实的人物形象为基础的。这一新的特点表明，雪莱的思想和创作已完全成熟。第三时期是雪莱在整个意大利时期，雪莱因为更加清醒地意识到了自己所负有的伟大使命，因而其思想信念和追求理想的决心更坚强更坚韧不拔。当时正值民族解放运动高涨的时期，他密切注视着斗争的发展，因此，更加关注现实。以诗歌直接地大胆地揭露反动派的真面目成为雪莱此时期诗作的一个醒目特点。在自由的旗帜下不断聚集的人民的反抗和斗争精神，引导着人们，向着自由挺进。在这个时候雪莱诗作中最感人的形象是自由。正义与自由这一主题在《解放了的普罗米修斯》中也得以充分的体现。
雪莱诗学思想研究
雪莱在诗歌的创作过程中，形成并总结出一套相对系统和完整的浪漫主义诗学理论。其诗学思想主要体现在他的理论著作《诗辩》(又译《诗之辩护》)和一些作品的序言里。在诗的创作发生论上，雪莱继承了柏拉图的“灵感”说，认为诗是不受心灵的主动能力支配的，诗的灵感来无影去无踪。雪莱还继承了亚里士多德“摹仿说”，认为“诗本来是一种摹仿的艺术”，诗之创造是依靠融会与再现。同时，诗又是“想象的表现”。诗的社会功能在于促人向善，陶冶情操，扩大胸襟，进而推动人类社会的发展。鉴于雪来的上述观点，学者张旭春(2004)用审美先锋主义思想解读雪莱的这一诗歌理论时指出，诗人的确是促成社会巨变的“先驱”，但他们对社会变革的介入不是直接的，而是通过扩大一小部分精英读者群的想象力来实现的。例如《解放了的普罗米修斯》就不能被解读为“直接宣传社会改革”的“教诲诗”。虽然雪莱的确“具有改造世界的热情”，但是，他所真正意图改造的并非当下的现实世界，而是少数精英阶级的精神和道德世界，这表明他的反叛行为在本质上是审美的，而非政治的和社会的。在学者们看来雪莱还认为语言是诗的工具和素材。诗是语言，尤其是韵律语言的特殊排列。声音和思想不但彼此之间有联系，而且和它们所表现的对象也紧密相关。(祝平，2007)
诗歌的象征意义研究
有学者指出雪莱所创作的著名诗篇和诗剧中的共同特点是象征手法的运用。在描写现实生活、历史事件或塑造艺术形象时，雪莱将现实主义的真实性、准确性和历史具体性与积极浪漫主义富于理想和激情的特点结合起来，运用象征性的艺术形式给他的作品注入了更深刻的思想内容，愈加彰显出人类追求自由解放的伟大主题。(丁雪光，2007)例如，《西风颂》中西风不仅仅是破坏者，它还是建设者，它在横扫“枯死的落叶”的同时，把种子催送到“冬床上”。因此，西风是新生命的孕育者和保护者。《云雀之歌》中云雀自由飞翔的绝技对于诗人来说反映了诗人渴望摆脱现实生活中的桎梏，向往自由美好未来的迫切心情，诗中的云雀代表着先进的革命力量，诗中他表达了渴望自己也能用云雀般响彻云霄的歌声宣传革命理想。《给英国人民的歌》中“雄蜂”象征剥削者，“工蜂”代表劳动人民，诗歌列举英国的“雄蜂”坐享“工蜂”成果的不公平现象，号召人民拒绝将劳动果实给掠夺者享用，诗的结尾表明如果人民不起来挣脱掉身上的枷锁，英国将成为他们的坟墓。《虐政的假面游行》中“群狮”象征人民，“锁链”代表虐政和专制，雪莱用诗歌号召人民意识到自身力量的强大，不要被虐政的一时猖獗而吓倒，要像醒狮般奋起抗争，挣脱专制就象摇落沾身的露珠一样容易，人民以多胜少，必将赢得自由。《伊斯兰的起义》一诗表达了雪莱人生抱负、哲学思想和美学理念，诗中，雪莱以象征性的语言和手法来谱写革命浪漫主义幻想，全诗象征着未来的世界变革，民主自由必定会实现，人类的明天必将光辉灿烂。在《解放了的普罗米修斯》诗剧中人物都带有象征性，普罗米修斯象征“人类”，天神宙斯象征“人类压迫和专制”，普罗米修斯的妻子阿西亚象征“大自然”，冥王象征“变革必然性”，大力士赫拉克勒斯象征“力量之神”，是他解放了普罗米修斯。人类的捍卫者一旦解放，“大自然”阿西亚就恢复了原来的美丽，同她的丈夫普罗米修斯(象征人类)团圆。普罗米修斯亲吻了“大地母亲”，于是，爱就洋溢在大地的生灵、草木和山水之间。打倒了专制，人民获得自由，愤怒、傲慢、伪善以及其他恶习也都荡然无存。大地无限幸福，月亮也受到大地之光的爱抚，融化了月亮山上的冰雪，整个世界都唱起新生和春天。
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