Shelley, Percy Bysshe : Sonnet ("Ye hasten to the grave! What seek ye there,")

Literature Annotations

Genre	Sonnet
Keywords	Death and Dying, Medical Ethics, Religion, Science, Society
Summary	Shelley angrily asks why some people chase after death or knowledge of it. To analyze the source of life or the conditions of its end is "vain" curiosity. Such knowledge has no benefit; it merely is a case of man trying to usurp the role of God.
Commentary	Shelley's poem would nicely accompany a reading of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (see this database). Both poets warn man about overstepping his bounds. Intellectual/scientific achievement is nothing compared to developing the sentiments. Indeed, the hubris of such pursuits may lead to disaster.
Source	Poetical Works
Publisher	Oxford Univ. Press
Edition	1988
Editors	Thomas Hutchinson
Place Published	New York
Alternate Source	The Complete Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley, Vol. 4
Alternate Publisher	Gordian
Alternate Edition	1965
Alternate Editors	Roger Ingpen & Walter E. Peck
Place Published	New York
Miscellaneous	First published: 1823
Annotated by	Moore, Pamela
Date of Entry	08/08/94