A dream has power to poison sleep.
Percy Bysshe ShelleyRead
Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Poets play a crucial role in shaping societal values and thoughts, although they often remain unrecognized.
Percy Bysshe Shelley suggests that poets hold immense power in influencing culture and society, akin to legislators who create laws. While their contributions to society may not always be acknowledged, their ability to articulate truths and inspire change through their art positions them as vital shapers of human experience and thought.
Themes
PoetsLegislationWorldArtInfluence
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the impact of literature on society, one might say, 'As Percy Bysshe Shelley reminds us, poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.'
More from Percy Bysshe Shelley
All quotes βSenseless is the breast and cold _x000D_ _x000D_ Which relenting love would fold;_x000D_ _x000D_ Bloodless are the veins and chill _x000D_ _x000D_ Which the pulse of pain did fill; _x000D_ _x000D_ Every little living nerve _x000D_ _x000D_ That from bitter words did swerve _x000D_ _x000D_ Round the tortur'd lips and brow, _x000D_ _x000D_ Are like sapless leaflets now _x000D_ _x000D_ Frozen upon December's bough.
Percy Bysshe ShelleyRead
A sensitive plant in a garden grew,_x000D_ _x000D_ And the young winds fed it with silver dew,_x000D_ _x000D_ And it opened its fan_x000D_ _x000D_ like leaves to the light,_x000D_ _x000D_ and closed them beneath the kisses of night.
Percy Bysshe ShelleyRead
I am the daughter of Earth and Water, And the nursling of the Sky; I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores; I change, but I cannot die. For after the rain when with never a stain The pavilion of Heaven is bare, And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams Build up the blue dome of air, I silently laugh at my own cenotaph, And out of the caverns of rain, Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb, I arise and unbuild it again.
Percy Bysshe ShelleyRead
O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?
Percy Bysshe ShelleyRead
Ah, woe is me! Winter is come and gone. But grief returns with the revolving year.
Percy Bysshe ShelleyRead
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