In Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem, “To William Shelley,” the poet expresses his grief over the death of his son through the use of powerful diction, strong symbolism, and universal theme. It is through Shelley’s grief that he produces such a powerful tribute to the memory of his deceased three and half year old boy.
First, Shelley’s choice and use of positive words juxtaposed with negative words creates a foil between the two groups, further helping to highlight William’s former innocence and the speaker’s grief directed at the death of William. Shelley uses words such as “bright spirit,” “luster,” and “divine,” to describe William’s soul and disposition (2, 4, 7). The word “bright” immediately conjures up images of the sun, a symbol for a new day and hope for rebirth. William’s “bright spirit” held hope for the speaker’s admiration of innocence, and with the death of William, the speaker’s optimism towards innocence expires. “Lustre” in line 4 is usually paired with an image of an item which sparkles with beauty, much like the “bright spirit” of William Shelley (2). The speaker’s comparison of his son to a “divine” being appears in line 7, which signifies that William, in the eyes of his father and mother, is a creation which only God could have inspired. His status as beloved son is further represented in lines 8 through 9 when the speaker proclaims that William’s tomb should be a “shrine” to “thy mother’s grief and mine.” Shelley also articulates the sadness of his loss through the use of words like “ashes,” “tombs,” and “ruins” (5, 14). “Ashes,” being the remnants of burned matter, are gray to blackish in color. These colors bring about images of death in the reader’s mind and assist the poet in establishing a morose tone. The use of the word “tomb” mirrors the solidity of William’s death: it is concrete and certain. The “ruins” are parallel to the ruins that the speaker’s emotions are in after the death of his son; they are a heap of jumbled thoughts and feelings.
Second, it is through Shelley’s diction choice that we see the symbolism for innocence and death break though to the surface. The “tombs and ruins” symbolize the certainty of death as suffered by William (14). They also signify the darkness of death and the darkness that the surviving family must endure after the passing of a loved one. However, Shelley uses symbolic images such as “flowers” and “sunny grass,” which represent pureness and innocence, two traits that William Shelley possessed as a three year old child. Furthermore, the abrupt ending, either intentional or unintentional, suggests to the reader the unfinished life of William Shelley and its unexpected conclusion.
Finally, the theme that the poem possesses is the loss of innocence to an earthly corruption: death. Death deprives us of naiveté and innocence of the world around us; death presents to us the horror and sorrow of disease and the effects thereafter. It is through death that each human becomes another man’s equal and becomes once again part of the earth. William becomes the equal of all of Earth’s deceased individuals through his death and loss of innocence. The speaker says, “Let me think that thy spirit feeds, / With its life intense and mild, / The love of living leaves and weeds,” meaning that he hopes some part of William will become the nature he is surrounded by (11-13). Shelley, being a Romanticist, honored and respected nature; it is no surprise that he hoped to see some of William in the greenery which surrounded him.
Percy Shelley’s short ode to his deceased son is a tribute not only to William Shelley, but to every other young child who has fallen into the hands of death and had their innocence taken away from them. Through strong word choice, well-placed symbolism, and common human theme, Shelley creates a strong and heartfelt testament to innocence and its unfortunate but inevitable death.
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