Percy Shelley: Poems
comment on the atmosphere of mourning in the poem " Adonais" ?
" Adonais" ?
" Adonais" ?
Shelley is mourning the death of his good friend, the young English poet John Keats. The persona has entered a state of dejection, calling everyone to mourn with him, and announcing that Keats should be remembered forever. To do so, Shelley assigns to Keats’ identity Adonis, a Greek god who was loved by Venus and died at a very young age, being torn apart by wild boars.
The overarching form of the poem is a pastoral elegy, meaning that a shepherd of sorts is mourning the death of another. Literarily speaking, the function of pastoral poetry is reflexive in that it uses older traditions to make complex emotions seem simpler.
http://www.gradesaver.com/percy-shelley-poems/study-guide/summary-adonais