General Literary Resources- Literary Histories or Periods- Maddi Winterbottom

My assignment was to find two resources explaining the history related to "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley. If I can learn more about the history when the sonnet was written, like specific themes in that era, common politics or practices, and the background of the author, then I'll be able to better understand the presented themes and ideas in the sonnet.

• The Oxford Companion to English Literature: This resource, which I found through some preliminary research of the time and setting of Shelley's published work and then searching for appropriate companion guides, provided insights of author biographies showing the events in the author's life surrounding certain pieces they wrote. This was especially helpful as it showed more into Shelley's life and background apart from being a poet, and critical events in his life that may have affected different pieces or writing styles of his. One such, is that Shelley was viewed as a radical. He was born in Sussex and was predicted to be a member of parliament. Additionally, as he studied at Oxford he read from radical authors. The resource also highlights that Shelley had a hatred of oppression. These events could highlight a more extreme political view in is poem, "Ozymandias,"  that perhaps he was showing the wrongfulness of claiming land and power.
• Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World; British Literature: Though an encyclopedia, this resource showcased pertinent information relative to the setting and politics during the time Shelley was writing. It highlights the genre of poetry at the time, and the events in history that impacted his work, and the work of other poets. For example, an entry about the 18th and 19th century shows that Shelley was amongst the second-generation of the romantic poets, and he was largely influence by the "Lake Poets." There's was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and urbanism. These insights suggest that Shelley was concerned about expansion and the politics of his time, as were other poets before him. His sonnet about the "King of Kings" as his statue lies in rubble, shows that Shelley was aware of the long-term affects of the revolution and urbanism, and how impermanent these features would be, and the wastelands they could create.

The context from these sources shows that Shelley's writing was largely centered on the events during his time as he was influenced both by his upbringing in the political scene, and also by the radical poets during his time who shared his ideals. Because of the era Shelley was writing in, it would be interesting to go look at more of his writing and see the lens with which he was writing through, and the arguable propaganda he was presenting at the time.