A Comparison of the Depiction of William Wordsworth Within Percy Shelley's to Wordsworth and Mary Shelley's on Reading Wordsworth's Lines on Peele Castle.

Generations after influential writers have surpassed the peak of their literary career, it is typical to continue inspiration upon the following writing successors. In terms of the proclaimed “second generation Romantic writers”, the “first generation” was extremely inspiring and important to the descendants of this type of writing and, essentially, this way of life. Upon further analysis of the poems addressed to Wordsworth by both Percy Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, it is apparent that there is both a sense of bitterness and lovingness intertwined within the respective lines of prose. The depiction of William Wordsworth found within both Percy and Mary Shelley’s designated poems are affectionately used to accentuate their own poetic ability and writing profession.

Quite commonly in published literary history, writers will use their idols to construct goals and ideals for themselves in terms of their present and future career. Frequently distinguishable in the second generation of Romantic poets, the previous generation was often times placed on a pedestal. Even more prominent in relating the second generation and their romanticizing of the first generation, is the use or mentioning of the ancestors and their infamous works. However, the second generation had a hard time attempting to follow up the immense success of the first generation, largely due to the drastic differences in their separate worlds. As a second generation poet, the influential writers of the previous generation were practically as colourful and intelligent as possible. Therefore, to be related in any manner to one of these poets gave the second generation great joy. For those writers who were not connected with an idol through the eyes of a fellow poet or potential audience, many used their own works to express the similarities between themselves and their favourite first generation poet. For Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and her husband Percy Shelley, this was none other than William Wordsworth. Their highest regarded association poems were entitled, respectively, On Reading Wordsworth’s Lines on Peele Castle, and To Wordsworth. While the two poems express very different qualities viewed in Wordsworth, they present similarities in their feelings towards Wordsworth’s ultimate status, and share unadulterated underlying tones.

Throughout On Reading Wordsworth’s Lines on Peele Castle, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley has provided a minor attitude of resentment towards the direction of her attention. More overpoweringly though, is her immeasurable regard of William Wordsworth in terms of poetic hierarchy. It is apparent to her audience that she respects Wordsworth, especially at the height of his career. Also obvious to the readers is her invisible connection with the idolized writer, through the way in which she portrays a complete and thorough understanding of Wordsworth, as if the two share the same frame of mind. “It is with me, as erst with you, / oh poet, nature’s chronicler” (Wollstonecraft Shelley, 1438, 1-2). Developed within these simple lines in Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s poem, is a sense of an