Shelley's Venomed Melody

This provocative study assesses Shelley's health and how it affected his poetry.

List of illustrations; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. The ancient infirmity; 2. From natural magic to natural science: Eton 1804-1810; 3. Arsenic and aquafortis: Oxford 1810-1811; 4. The mill-wheel's sound; 5. Love and vegetables 1811-1813; 6. Elephantiasis; 7. Pale pain, my shadow 1814-1822; 8. The myth of syphilis; 9. Nightshade, well, forest; 10. White hair and frail form; 11. Evil, the immedicable plague; 12. Egyptian bondage: Charles the First and The Triumph of Life; Notes; Notes on texts; Symbols, short titles and abbreviations; Index.