Themassyearth，thespheredskiesaregiven:
Iambornedarkly，fearfullyafar;
Whilst，burningthroughtheinmostveilofheaven，ThesoulofAdonaislikeastarBeaconsfromtheabodewheretheeternalare。
TheSoulofAdonais？—Adonais，whoisbutAportionofthelovelinessWhichoncehemademorelovely。
Afterall，tofinishwherewebegan，perhapsthepoemsonwhichtheloverofShelleyleansmostlovingly，whichhehasoftenestinhismind，whichbestrepresentShelleytohimandwhichheinstinctivelyrevertstowhenShelley\'snameismentionedaresomeoftheshorterpoemsanddetachedlyrics。HereShelleyforgetsforawhileallthatevermakeshisverseturbid;forgetsthatheisanythingbutapoet，forgetssometimesthatheisanythingbutachild;liesbackinhisskiff，andlooksattheclouds。Heplaystruantfromearth，slipsthroughthewicketoffancyintoheaven\'smeadow，andgoesgatheringstars。Herewehavethatabsolutevirgin—goldofsongwhichisthescarcestamonghumanproducts，andforwhichwecangotobutthreepoets—Coleridge，Shelley，Chopin，{8}andperhapsweshouldaddKeats。ChristabelandKubla—Khan;TheSkylark，TheCloud，andTheSensitivePlant（initsfirsttwoparts）。TheEveofSaintAgnesandTheNightingale;certainoftheNocturnes;—thesethingsmakeveryquintessentialisedloveliness。Itisattarofpoetry。
Remark，asathingworthremarking，that，althoughShelley\'sdictionisatothertimessingularlyrich，itceasesinthesepoemstoberich，ortoobtrudeitselfatall;itisimperceptible;hisMusehasbecomeaveritableEcho，whosebodyhasdissolvedfromabouthervoice。Indeed，whenhisdictionisrichest，neverthelessthepoetrysodominatestheexpressionthatwefeelthelatteronlyasanatmosphereuntilwearesatiatedwiththeformer;thenwediscoverwithsurprisetohowimperialavesturewehadbeenblindedbygazingonthefaceofhissong。Alesson，this，deservingtobeconnedbyagenerationsooppositeintendencyasourown:alessonthatinpoetry，asintheKingdomofGod，weshouldnottakethoughttoogreatlywherewithweshallbeclothed，butseekfirst{9}thespirit，andallthesethingswillbeaddeduntous。
OnthemarvellousmusicofShelley\'sverseweneednotdwell，excepttonotethatheavoidsthatmetronomicbeatofrhythmwhichEdgarPoeintroducedintomodernlyricmeasures，asPopeintroduceditintotherhymingheroicsofhisday。Ourvariedmetresarebecomingaspainfullyover—polishedasPope\'sonemetre。Shelleycouldatneedsacrificesmoothnesstofitness。HecouldwriteananapaestthatwouldsendMr。Swinburneintostrongshudders（e。g。，\"streamdidglide\"）whenheinstinctivelyfeltthatbysoforgoingthemoreobviousmusicofmelodyhewouldbettersecurethehighermusicofharmony。Ifwehavetoaddthatinotherwayshewasfarfromescapingthedefectsofhismerits，andwouldsometimeshavetoacknowledgethathisNiloticfloodtoooftenoverfloweditsbanks，whatisthisbutsayingthathediedyoung？
ItmaybethoughtthatinourcasualcommentsonShelley\'slifewehavebeenblindtoitsevilside。That，however，isnotthecase。
Weseeclearlythathecommittedgravesins，andonecruelcrime;
butwerememberalsothathewasanAtheistfromhisboyhood;wereflecthowgrossmusthavebeenthemoralneglectinthetrainingofachildwhoCOULDbeanAtheistfromhisboyhood:andwedeclinetojudgesounhappyabeingbytheruleswhichweshouldapplytoaCatholic。ItseemstousthatShelleywasstruggling—blindly，weakly，stumblingly，butstillstruggling—towardshigherthings。
HisPantheismisanindicationofit。Pantheismisahalf—wayhouse，andmarksascentordescentaccordingtothedirectionfromwhichitisapproached。NowShelleycametoitfromabsoluteAtheism;thereforeinhiscaseitmeantrise。Again，hispoetryalonewouldleadustothesameconclusion，forwedonotbelievethatatrulycorruptedspiritcanwriteconsistentlyetherealpoetry。Weshouldbelieveinnothing，ifwebelievedthat，foritwouldbetheconsecrationofalie。Poetryisathermometer:bytakingitsaverageheightyoucanestimatethenormaltemperatureofitswriter\'smind。Thedevilcandomanythings。Butthedevilcannotwritepoetry。Hemaymarapoet，buthecannotmakeapoet。
AmongallthetemptationswherewithhetemptedSt。Anthony，thoughwehaveoftenseenitstatedthathehowled，wehaveneverseenitstatedthathesang。
Shelley\'sanarchicprincipleswereasaruleheldbyhimwithsomemisdirectedviewtotruth。Hedisbelievedinkings。Andisitnotamerefact—regretitifyouwill—thatinallEuropeancountries，excepttwo，monarchsareameresurvival，theobsoletebuttonsonthecoat—tailsofrule，whichservenopurposebuttobecontinuallycomingoff？ItisamiserablethingtonotehoweverylittleBalkanState，havingobtainedliberty（savethemark！）byActofCongress，straightwayproceedstosecuretheserviceofaprofessionalking。
ThesegentlemenareplentifulinEurope。Theyarethe\"nobleChairmen\"wholendtheirnamesforaconsiderationtoanyenterprisingcompanywhichmaybespeculatinginLiberty。Whenweseethesethings，wereverttotheoldlinesinwhichPersiustellshowyoucannotturnDamaintoafreemanbytwirlinghimroundyourfingerandcallinghimMarcusDama。
Again，Shelleydesiredareligionofhumanity，andthatmeant，tohim，areligionforhumanity，areligionwhich，unlikethespectralChristianityabouthim，shouldpermeateandregulatethewholeorganisationofmen。AndthefeelingisonewithwhichaCatholicmustsympathise，inanagewhen—ifwemaysaysowithoutirreverence—theAlmightyhasbeenmadeaconstitutionalDeity，withcertainstate—grantsofworship，butnoinfluenceoverpoliticalaffairs。Inthesemattershisaimsweregenerous，ifhismethodswereperniciouslymistaken。InhistheoryofFreeLovealone，borrowedliketherestfromtheRevolution，hisaimwasasmischievousashismethod。Atthesametimehewasatleastlogical。Histheorywasrepulsive，butcomprehensible。Whereasfromourpresentviamedia—facilitationofdivorce—canonlyresulttheerawhentheyoungladyinreducedcircumstanceswillnolongerturngovernessbutwillbeopentoengagementaswifeatareasonablestipend。
WespokeofthepurityofShelley\'spoetry。Weknowofbutthreepassagestowhichexceptioncanbetaken。OneishappilyhiddenunderaheapofShelleianrubbish。Anotherisoffensive，becauseitpresentshistheoryofFreeLoveinitsmostodiousform。Thethirdisverymuchamatter，wethink，fortheindividualconscience。
ComparewiththisthegenuinelycorruptByron，throughthecracksandfissuresofwhoseheavingversificationsteamupperpetuallythesulphurousvapoursfromhiscentraliniquity。WecannotcreditthatanyChristianeverhadhisfaithshakenthroughreadingShelley，unlesshisfaithwereshakenbeforehereadShelley。Isanysafelyhavenedbarklikelytoslipitscable，andmakeforaflagplantedontheveryreefwheretheplanterhimselfwaswrecked？
Whyindeed（oneistemptedtoaskinconcluding）shoulditbethatthepoetswhohavewrittenforusthepoetryrichestinskieygrain，mostfreefromadmixturewiththedullerthingsofearth—theShelleys，theColeridges，theKeats—aretheverypoetswhoselivesareamongthesaddestrecordsinliterature？Isitthat（bysomesubtilemysteryofanalogy）sorrow，passion，andfantasyareindissolublyconnected，likewater，fire，andcloud;thatasfromsunanddewarebornthevapours，sofromfireandtearsascendthe\"visionsofaerialjoy\";thattheharvestwavesrichestoverthebattlefieldsofthesoul;thattheheart，liketheearth，smellssweetestafterrain;thatthespellonwhichdependsuchnecromanticcastlesissomespiritofpaincharm—poisonedattheirbase？{10}