TO A LADY WITH GUITAR

2.  Born in Broadbridge Heath,
England, on August 4, 1792,
Percy Bysshe Shelley is one
of the epic poets of the 19th
century, and is best known
for his classic anthology
verse works such as Ode to
the West Wind and The
Masque of Anarchy.
 He is also well known for his
long-form poetry,
includingQueen
Mab and Alastor.

3. TO A LADY WITH GUITAR
P.B Shelley was one of the earliest
poets to be influenced by The
Tempest.
His With a Guitar, To Jane identifies
Ariel with the poet and his songs
with poetry.
The poem uses simple diction to
convey Ariel’s closeness to nature
and “ imitates the straighfarward
beauty of Shakespeare’s original
songs

4. The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, estimated to
have been writen in 1610-11, although some researchers
have argued for an earlier dating.
The play’s protagonist, Prospero, the right full Duke of Milan,
has been deprived of his throne by usurping brother Antonio,
aided by Alonso, the King of Naples.

5. When Prospero and his daughter Miranda have been put into
a tiny boat and sent away to a deserted island far from
civilization
spero comes ashore, he finds two inhabitance there: Ariel,
spirit and Caliban.
Shelley included this light hearted poem, copied out in his
best hand, with a Guitar he gave to Jane William in 1822
Taking his cue, perhaps, from the Shakespearean Christian
name of the Guitar’s maker, Ferdinando, he casts himself and
the William’s as a character from the Tempest: they are the
lovers Miranda and Ferdinand, he is Ariel, the spirit of fire
and air

6.  The wood of the Guitar is from a tree that ‘died in sleep, and
felt no pain, / to live in happier form again.’
 Only the most skillful hands can release the harmonies of
nature preserved in the instrument, and ‘it keeps it highest
holiest tone/ for our beloved Jane alone.’