Composed in October 1819 during a flurry of poetic creativity, Shelley’s

satirises Wordsworth’s tale of a wayward potter, in

(published 22 April, 1819), who renounces his immoral life after a sequence of natural occurrences reveal to him the error of his old ways. On completion, Shelley sent his satirical verse to Leigh Hunt, on 2 November 1819, with the intention that

would be passed onto Charles Ollier for immediate, but anonymous, publication. In spite of Shelley’s efforts to persuade Ollier to print the poem,

remained unpublished until its inclusion in Mary Shelley’s first one volume edition of Shelley’s poetry published after the poet’s death in 1839.

Prior to publication in 1819, the sermonizing

721 words

Citation: Sandy, Mark. "Peter Bell the Third". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 August 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2834, accessed 23 April 2024.]