Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was born August 4, 1792 at Field Place near Sussex, England. He was the oldest son of Timothy and Elizabeth Shelley. He had one brother and four sisters. His father was a squire and a representative in Parliament (Encyclopedia).
He went to school at the Syon House Academy and at Eton. His teachers said he was an exceptional student. His biggest passions were the spirit of revolution and the power of free thought. His sensitive nature, refusal to conform to tradition, and his hobby of performing scientific experiments earned him the nickname Mad Shelley. During his years as a student he had a wide range of interests. He experimented in physical science, studied medicine and philosophy, and wrote novels and poetry. By the time he entered Oxford in 1810 he had already published a novel named Zastrozzi. He attended Oxford until he and his roommate were expelled for writing a pamphlet named The Necessity of Atheism (Shilstone 391).
His father visited him in London after he was expelled and insisted that he renounce his beliefs, which included atheism, vegetarianism, free love, and political radicalism. Shelley refused. He met and married Harriet Westbrook, the daughter of a tavern
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