Prometheus Unbound

Shelley was an early 19th-century English radical republican, meaning he advocated for replacing Great Britain’s monarchy with a republic. Voicing these political views at the time could lead to censorship or charges of sedition. To shield himself from these consequences, Shelley relied on the framework of mythology and symbolism to express his views indirectly in works like Prometheus Unbound, where Shelley uses the Greek myth of Prometheus to express his ideas about republican revolution and the consequences of tyrannical authority.

Within this allegorical close play, the characters are both mythical figures and personifications of abstract ideas. For instance, Prometheus is both a Titan and a representation of Knowledge, Jupiter is both the king of the gods and a symbol of monarchy more generally, and Demogorgon is both a mythical underworld demonic figure and embodies the spirit of the people. These dual identities construct the political message set forth in the work.

The image of Prometheus bound by Jupiter to a rock in the mountains is thus an allegory of absolutist repression. Prometheus is being punished for sharing divine enlightenment with humans, so his imprisonment illustrates Shelley’s view of earthly tyrants holding back the spread of knowledge to keep their grip on power.