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2.2. Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "Prometheus Unbound".
Percy Bysshe Shelley's Prometheus Unbound is a lyrical drama published in 1820. Shelley wrote the play to be a closet drama, which is a play not performed on stage but rather played out in the reader's mind.
Prometheus Unbound is an adaptation of Aeschylus's play Prometheus Unbound. Both Shelley's and Aeschylus's plays concern Prometheus and his theft of fire from the gods. However, in Aeschylus's play, Prometheus and Jupiter eventually reconcile, but they don't in Shelley's version. Shelley felt that the reconciliation cheapened the sacrifice Prometheus performed, and he also didn't wish to simply retell the original play.
Prometheus Unbound Characters
Prometheus Unbound's characters are all immortals originally from Greek mythology:
Prometheus: Prometheus is a Titan, one of the oldest beings and a child of the Earth. Sometime before the play, Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gifted it to humanity. For his crime, Jupiter binds him to a mountain where the hawks of Jupiter will eat away at his flesh every day. Despite the horrific punishment, Prometheus is steadfast in his resolve that giving humanity the knowledge of fire was morally correct. In Greek, Prometheus' name originally means "forethought," which is ironic considering his theft would lead to an eternity of pain.
Jupiter: The ruler of the gods, Jupiter is a tyrant who rules through fear. He denied humanity knowledge of even fire for fear they might one day question him or rise against him.
Asia: Prometheus's wife, Asia is sister to Panthea and Ione. She is connected to the world and becomes a symbol of hope following Jupiter's fall.
Demogorgon: Demogorgon is a spirit associated with the underworld. His parents are Jupiter and Thetis. Demogorgon, however, is more powerful and throws Jupiter into the abyss to end his rule.
Panthea: Asia's sister, Panthea stays by Prometheus' side while he is tortured to offer some measure of comfort.
The play begins with Prometheus still bound to the rock where Jupiter left him after stealing fire from the gods to give to humanity. As he laments his pain while hawks eat him again, he claims he is greater than Jupiter himself. Prometheus recalls his love for Asia, one of the daughters of the Titans. The Earth, moved, joins him in speaking against the tyranny of Jupiter. She mentions Demogorgon, a tyrant who is far greater than Jupiter and lives in a shadow realm that is parallel to the world. Mercury arrives and beseeches Prometheus to save himself by revealing a secret only he knows: the fate of Jupiter. Prometheus refuses and a group of furies taunts him by exclaiming that they've attacked humanity. Prometheus, tortured for his love of humanity, is powerless to do anything. In an Indian Caucasus valley, Asia speaks with her sister Panthea about the state of things since Prometheus's punishment. Soon, the Echoes arrive and beckon the sisters to follow them. They take Asia and Panthea to a forest where they eventually meet Demogorgon. Asia asks Demogorgon who created the world, and Demogorgon responds that God created everything in creation both good and evil. She and Demogorgon talk about Prometheus' contributions to humanity, including fire and science, while lamenting that Jupiter rules all. In heaven, Jupiter has the other gods present and boasts that he ruled everything except the soul of humans. When he discusses Demogorgon, Demogorgon himself appears and claims to be Jupiter's offspring: Eternity. Boasting he is more powerful than Jupiter himself, Demogorgon makes Jupiter afraid and the god of all says that even Prometheus would not make him suffer needlessly. Jupiter then attacks Demogorgon but fails and falls from power. Meanwhile, Hercules frees Prometheus. He reunites with Asia and tells her of a cave where they can live in peace. Spirits rejoice at Jupiter's end. Panthea and Ione see the Spirit of Earth in a winged chariot. Earth and Moon sing about the new coming age free from Jupiter's tyranny now that humanity knows all things, including the secret of Jupiter's lightning. Demogorgon speaks the final lines of the play and congratulates Prometheus for his ultimate victory. Unlike Aeschylus's version of the story, Prometheus and Jupiter never reconcile.
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