344
know. His images have become almost iconic; those of his blessed absence of
human foible, like a lamb. Of course, the impression of innocence would do him
enormous disservice. Yet, reading his works from youth solidifies a potent friendship to the point of his becoming our own confidant, a parallel universe whose
agonies and aspirations mirror the complicit heart, against the vast twilight of his
own times and troubles, and ours. We think we know every great writer or that they
know us. A more probing reality suggests that the closer we come to sensing human
nature, the more difficult our acceptance of ourselves becomes. This is the mark of
intellectual evolution, however disconcerting. It may indeed provide useful outlets,
curb our appetites, channel our anger, and invite consideration of new alternatives.
In the case of Shelley, all of the above.
We are invited to commence some semblance of a profound connection to this
young man and his world at the Keats Shelley House. His, Shelley’s, and several
other poets’ intangible lives are compressed up the stairs, right off the street, among
some 10,000 books, numerous drawings, a few paintings, memorabilia, and
momento mori, all abase the teeming Spanish Steps (the Piazza di Spagna, 26,
00187 Roma), a working research library that welcomes the stream of literary pilgrims who have been coming there since the Spring of 1909 (Fig. 39.3).
Keats died of tuberculosis in the house in 1821, after less than four months
inhabiting its two rooms. He was nursed along by his traveling companion, the
painter, Severn. Immediately after the 24-year-old had perished, authorities had the
interior sanitized. Some 80 years later, poets from the United States, the United
Kingdom, and elsewhere managed to acquire the property at the virtual epicenter of
Rome (Keats Shelley at the bottom of the steps, the famed Villa Medici at the top,
known as Pincio Hill) and dedicate it instructively. Shelley had invited the ailing
Keats to the Kingdom of Italy. And the two men would die there, roughly 15 months
apart. Along with Severn, all three would be laid to rest at Il Cimitero Straniero (or
Protestant [Strangers] Cemetery). Their gravestones proffer poignancy in a way perhaps no other poetic friendships have ever been quite so emotionally enshrined. Or
that’s certainly the sensation one who has managed to visit their gravesites is heir to.
2
From those Roman calms, Shelley’s spirit calls out to posterity in an unbridled,
high-voltage current of ever-undiminished, lyrical provocation. Geographically, scientifically, he had been voraciously in tune with the humanistic tailings of his times,
since childhood. Like a young Leonardo, he was imperviously engaged in chemistry experiments, reading widely on topics ranging from James Hutton’s A Theory of
the Earth (1785) to essays on Alpine, South American and Himalayan exploration
2 “At Shelley’s Grave: The Ineffable Calico Cat at Il Cimitero Straniero,” A lovely and emotional
essay about the search for the poets, in addition to cats, and Rome in general, by “Francis.” Literary
Traveler, October 15, 2018, https://www.literarytraveler.com/articles/percy_bysshe_shelley_
grave/. Accessed April 4, 2020. While the two young poets were not close friends, they clearly
shared a competitive love for one another and met on numerous occasions in England throughout
1817. See, Hanson, Marilee. “Letters To Percy Bysshe Shelley, 16 August 1820” https://englishhistory.net/keats/letters/percy-bysshe-shelley-16-august-1820/,
https://englishhistory.net/keats/
letters/percy-bysshe-shelley-16-august-1820/, February 22, 2015.
39 Shelley’s Ecological Exile and His Utopia of Animal Rights
know. His images have become almost iconic; those of his blessed absence of
human foible, like a lamb. Of course, the impression of innocence would do him
enormous disservice. Yet, reading his works from youth solidifies a potent friendship to the point of his becoming our own confidant, a parallel universe whose
agonies and aspirations mirror the complicit heart, against the vast twilight of his
own times and troubles, and ours. We think we know every great writer or that they
know us. A more probing reality suggests that the closer we come to sensing human
nature, the more difficult our acceptance of ourselves becomes. This is the mark of
intellectual evolution, however disconcerting. It may indeed provide useful outlets,
curb our appetites, channel our anger, and invite consideration of new alternatives.
In the case of Shelley, all of the above.
We are invited to commence some semblance of a profound connection to this
young man and his world at the Keats Shelley House. His, Shelley’s, and several
other poets’ intangible lives are compressed up the stairs, right off the street, among
some 10,000 books, numerous drawings, a few paintings, memorabilia, and
momento mori, all abase the teeming Spanish Steps (the Piazza di Spagna, 26,
00187 Roma), a working research library that welcomes the stream of literary pilgrims who have been coming there since the Spring of 1909 (Fig. 39.3).
Keats died of tuberculosis in the house in 1821, after less than four months
inhabiting its two rooms. He was nursed along by his traveling companion, the
painter, Severn. Immediately after the 24-year-old had perished, authorities had the
interior sanitized. Some 80 years later, poets from the United States, the United
Kingdom, and elsewhere managed to acquire the property at the virtual epicenter of
Rome (Keats Shelley at the bottom of the steps, the famed Villa Medici at the top,
known as Pincio Hill) and dedicate it instructively. Shelley had invited the ailing
Keats to the Kingdom of Italy. And the two men would die there, roughly 15 months
apart. Along with Severn, all three would be laid to rest at Il Cimitero Straniero (or
Protestant [Strangers] Cemetery). Their gravestones proffer poignancy in a way perhaps no other poetic friendships have ever been quite so emotionally enshrined. Or
that’s certainly the sensation one who has managed to visit their gravesites is heir to.
2
From those Roman calms, Shelley’s spirit calls out to posterity in an unbridled,
high-voltage current of ever-undiminished, lyrical provocation. Geographically, scientifically, he had been voraciously in tune with the humanistic tailings of his times,
since childhood. Like a young Leonardo, he was imperviously engaged in chemistry experiments, reading widely on topics ranging from James Hutton’s A Theory of
the Earth (1785) to essays on Alpine, South American and Himalayan exploration
2 “At Shelley’s Grave: The Ineffable Calico Cat at Il Cimitero Straniero,” A lovely and emotional
essay about the search for the poets, in addition to cats, and Rome in general, by “Francis.” Literary
Traveler, October 15, 2018, https://www.literarytraveler.com/articles/percy_bysshe_shelley_
grave/. Accessed April 4, 2020. While the two young poets were not close friends, they clearly
shared a competitive love for one another and met on numerous occasions in England throughout
1817. See, Hanson, Marilee. “Letters To Percy Bysshe Shelley, 16 August 1820” https://englishhistory.net/keats/letters/percy-bysshe-shelley-16-august-1820/,
https://englishhistory.net/keats/
letters/percy-bysshe-shelley-16-august-1820/, February 22, 2015.
39 Shelley’s Ecological Exile and His Utopia of Animal Rights