Percy Bysshe Shelley, from the early 19th century, was "the most determinedly professional writer of all the English Romantic poets" . This is seen in not only his symphonic poems like the Ode to the West Wind, his lyrical sonnets such as Lines written among the Euganean Hills amongst The Cloud, To a Skylark and many others, his political rhymes like The Revolt of Islam and Queen Mab and his narrative verses like Adonais, Alastor and Epipsychidion. It is also obvious in his poetic dramas with Prometheus Unbound and The Cenci as prime examples and his famous essay The Defense of Poetry. In Shelley's view, "the poet is a dreamer, a visionary" who must use these dreams and visions to "persuade men to shake off the chains of the past, of custom, of selfishness, and to press onward to the vital task of constructing a world characterized by kindness, generosity, and love."
             Shelley was born "the eldest son of a wealthy squire" on August 4th, 1792 at Field Place near Horsham. He attended Eton, "the most famous of the English public schools" , where he was bullied by older boys and resented their tyranny and became "determined to fight against all forms of tyranny" . At university, Shelley began reading books by radical political writers due to the influence of Sir Francis Burdett, the radical M.P who he met through his father and who really impressed him. He read the book Inquiry Concerning Political Justice, by William Godwin who was an atheist and anarchist. "Godwin's optimistic view of the nature of man appealed to Shelley's native idealism, his readiness to believe the best of man. Following the example of the master, Shelley became an atheist." Then came the Necessity of Atheism, a pamphlet expressing his support of Atheism and attacking the idea that Christianity is forced upon people. March 25th, 1811 would be the date that Oxford University expel...