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. The myth that Shelley adapts ends with Prometheus regaining his freedom by yielding to Jupiter’s demands. However, in the play, Prometheus refuses to accede to Jupiter, a change that promotes the idea that tyranny cannot be reconciled with, but must be undermined and resisted at all costs.

Dismayed by the bloodshed of the French Revolution and that country’s readoption of authoritarian rule under Napoleon Bonaparte, Shelley portrays an idealized version of revolution. The play argues that human flourishing results from knowledge being joined with love. In contrast, during Prometheus’s imprisonment, the earth’s dystopian conditions stem partly from the fact that “the wise want love; and those who love want wisdom” (I.627). Thus, Prometheus, the symbol of knowledge, has Panthea seek out Asia, the allegorical representation of love, so they can reunite.

In Act III, Demogorgon, in his guise as the voice of the people, confronts and dethrones Jupiter through a convincing argument that sways the gods around the tyrant not to support his continued rule. Allegorically, this is an image of populist republicanism bringing down seemingly absolute power by isolating its wielder. Notably, the play’s revolution avoids pursuing vengeance against its ousted despot. Shelley saw revenge as underpinning the Reign of Terror in France, a horrific bloodbath against the aristocracy and the clergy that undermined the Revolution. Instead, Prometheus explicitly forgives Jupiter. As a result, Jupiter is not replaced with another tyrant, as King Louis XVI was replaced by Napoleon Bonaparte; instead, a true republic emerges where all mankind is equal reigns.