Prometheus Unbound, a lyrical drama depicting the resistance of Prometheus against the supreme ruler of Jupiter, was published by Percy Bysshe Shelley in the early 1800s. This drama depicted the punishment Prometheus received on a mountaintop since he gave fire to humanity. Shelley published this story in 1820, which was during a period of great social upheaval in England due to the corruption that came from increased industrialization and technological development. Many citizens were being reaped opportunities, leading the aristocracy to become richer through new industrial advancements while making the poor plummet further into poverty. The French Revolution occurred from 1789 to 1799, where many Romantics like Shelley got inspired by the rebellious nature of the people, fighting against corrupt establishments and for individual freedom. Amidst these events, this drama allowed for imagination to take root and emphasize the goal of social justice for many Romantics of the time. In Prometheus Unbound, Shelley illustrates the attainment of freedom through the unwavering resistance to oppression and embracement of love portrayed by Prometheus.
Although subject to severe forms of punishment, Prometheus persists through the pain and manages to find compassion through suffering. After Prometheus gave the knowledge of fire to humanity, Prometheus officially went against the supreme ruler of the world, Jupiter, and thus was subjected to “Three thousand years of sleep-unsheltered hours” (1.12-13) where “crawling glaciers pierce [him] with the spears of their moon-freezing crystals” (1.31-32). The vivid imagery of his physical torture depicts his excruciating pain and his recognition that opposing Jupiter came with a dire consequence: being banished to a mountaintop. However, he does not regret his actions and is willing to endure the suffering. His punishment has only made him stronger as he is now aware that hatred and envy will not help him attain justice. To Jupiter, he states, “Disdain? Ah no! I pity thee . . . / I speak in grief” (1.53-56). Through his physical torture, Prometheus realizes that Jupiter has abused his powers and thus will suffer the consequences. Oppressive actions do not go unresolved and from his personal experience, he wishes no other to undergo torture. Through suffering, he now has a bigger heart and this is portrayed when Prometheus uses the word “pity” rather than rage to describe his heartfelt emotions to his ultimate enemy. Prometheus in a way resembles many writers during the time of social upheaval in Britain. The British state would try to control the literature that was printed to prevent radical ideas from being released to the public during the era when the printing press became available to more people. Although many authors became charged with sedition or blasphemy, many writers such as Shelley endured these labels and continued to write what they wished to express. Even though they did not undergo the physical torture of Prometheus, their “labels” vastly degraded their social status. However, rather than abandoning their ideals, many authors chose to endure the pain and continue to write what they believed to attain individual freedom.
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Forgiveness and determination allow Prometheus to stay driven and realize that hatred does not fuel triumph. Prometheus recognizes that he wished a dreadful curse upon Jupiter when he first became subject to his torture. To Jupiter, he had stated, “I curse thee! Let a sufferers curse / Clasp thee . . . / And thine Omnipotence a crown of pain” (1.286-90). Before suffering, Prometheus was engulfed in rage and thus used hatred as a coping mechanism. Anger made him seek sanctuary through violent thoughts, which ultimately imprisoned his soul. Only through experiencing his words of hate did Prometheus understand his wrong. Shelley let “his hero suffer his own words and discover generally how language may snare and deflect” (Llyod). After hearing the curse, Prometheus states, “It doth repent me: words are quick and vain; / Grief for awhile is blind, and so was mine. / I wish no living thing to suffer pain.” (1.303-305). Prometheus now has cognizance that treating violence with violence does not lead to a righteous outcome and that true strength comes with love and forgiveness. He uses words such as “repent” to show his sincere regret for acting in fury and his ultimate desire to undo his wrong. Because of this, Prometheus can endure the mental torture from the Furies when they mention how “In each human heart terror survives . . . / Hypocrisy and custom make their minds” (1.618-621) to make him lose hope in humanity. His persistent determination to oppose Jupiter’s tyrannical power and loving heart allow him to withstand the vivid imagery of chaos and approach the Furies only in pity. The initial rage Prometheus portrays as he bestows a violent curse upon Jupiter resembles how the rebels of the French Revolution sought a solution for the country through cruelty. To combat the oppression given by the aristocracy, supporters of the revolution initiated a period of absolute chaos, the Reign of Terror, where they utilized a guillotine to execute anyone who opposed the Revolution (Kennedy). Prometheus reflects that treating tyrants with violence only leads to further oppression and the possibility of generating even more fear. Being suppressed can cause one to wish for an evil destiny among others, but it is persistent determination and forgiveness that have the potential for a better start.
Even though the world is subject to Jupiter’s power, Prometheus sees that oppressive rulers are temporary and are prone to fall. When Asia speaks to the Demogorgon, she makes clear that she does not believe the world was initially created with evil spirits and hatred. The Demogorgon tells her that God created “thought, passion, reason, will,” (2.4.10) and implies that Jupiter initiated terror by bringing “First famine, and then toil, and then disease” (2.4.50). Through this encounter, Asia understands how specific individuals are those who corrupt power and cause suffering among humanity. Goodness and hope still lie on Earth but it is a matter of how people choose to utilize their power. She believes Prometheus will provide hope for the world with his good intentions and be “the Sun of this rejoicing world” (2.4.127). By using a metaphor to compare Prometheus to the sun, Shelley relates Prometheus to a source of light that will revive the world from its darkness and spread freedom just as Christ was deemed to purify the world from its sins. The potential for better change only comes with love and Prometheus embodies “humanity at an idealist extreme and outside the bounds of time and discrete identity” (Ward). Asia’s conversation with Panthea further foreshadows how love is the way to reform society when she states, “Common as light is love” (2.5.40). By describing love as “common,” Shelley makes it clear that love is not something exclusive and is available to all people. This makes it have the potential to illuminate human life after oppressive power is overthrown as represented when Jupiter sinks “Dizzly down – ever, forever, down” (3.1.81) from his throne. Jupiter’s fall from power resembles a biblical analogy to when Satan fell from Heaven into Hell. His evil deeds do not go unpunished in result in dire consequences. With the French Revolution, corrupt religious teaching in France was ended as the aristocracy lost its close ties between church and state to manipulate religious teachings for their benefit. Jupiter’s abusive power and spread of terror reflect how certain individuals can corrupt innocence in the world (the innocent Earth made by God and pure religious teaching in French society). Through Prometheus’ pure intentions, Shelley presents an alternative to the sinful nature of those in power.
Once the world is pure from oppressive power, Prometheus learns that through love, peace will be sustained. After Jupiter is overthrown, the Spirit of the Hour recounts how anger and hatred ceased to exist in the world. Earth is described as a place where “thrones [are] kingless, and men [walk] / One with the other even as spirits do,” (3.4.131-32) signifying that unity and freedom have been achieved. By using this effective imagery, Shelley portrays how people no longer have greedy ambition and are not in an infinite quest for power. This depicts how corrupt hierarchies are no longer in place and therefore cannot dictate society. Prometheus sees that these are all made possible when people embrace love since it “folds over the world its healing wings” (4.561). Shelley utilizes effective diction by using “healing” to portray how love allows for a purified society filled with knowledge and freedom where people are not subject to oppression. The Demogorgon’s recounts reflect Shelley’s belief “that man could free himself from tyranny, religious superstition, and social, political, and racial divisions through unity and love” (“Prometheus Unbound”). Even though the harmony on Earth may not be eternal, compassion, forgiveness, and love are “the spells by which to reassume / An empire o’er the disentangled Doom” (4.588-589). By comparing these emotions to a spell, Shelley enforces how empowering love can be as it has the potential to shape one’s actions. Hatred and cruelty will never enforce a righteous society and love is the way to triumph with goodness in the world. This realization of Prometheus reflects Shelley’s wish for nonviolent resistance to power, particularly in England. The French Revolution was filled with violence and rage and thus many Romantics like Shelley feared England with approached opposition in the same manner. From the French Revolution, he wanted people to understand a peaceful approach to change would only lead to social progression and this idea was reflected through the description Prometheus received of the new world after Jupiter’s defeat.
Through his experience, Prometheus can identify that persistent resistance to oppressive powers when in combination with love and compassion ultimately leads to freedom. It was his determined passion to oppose Jupiter’s tyrannical power that gave him strength amidst the physical and mental torture he faced upon the mountain. By suffering, he was able to identify the power of forgiveness, which ultimately shaped his perception of how the world should deal with abusive individuals. Through love, he realized that social progression would flourish as the world became filled with peace when people lacked envy and hatred towards each other. Shelley used this literature to embody trends of social and political upheaval in his society during the early 1800s. Amidst a period of vast social stratification, unequal distribution of wealth, and corrupt tyrannical power, this lyrical drama exemplified how he hoped to inspire others and change the faults of Britain. Shelley ultimately tries to show how a determined, nonviolent approach to oppression would bring freedom and progress to humanity.
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