The Revolt of Islam

The Revolt of Islam  (1817)  by Percy Bysshe Shelley

The Revolt of Islam, is a poem composed by Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1817. The poem was originally titled Laon and Cythna. The plot centres on two characters named Laon and Cythna who initiate a bloodless revolution against the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Despite its title, the poem does not have anything to do with Islam in particular, though the general subject of religion is addressed. Shelley identified and aligned himself strongly with the then-shocking notion of atheism. Shelley's work though, responding to the religious excesses and embedded hypocrisy of his time, is expressly spiritual, albeit running counter-religiosity. — Excerpted from The Revolt of Islam on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

• Author's Preface
• Dedication
• Canto I
• Canto II
• Canto III
• Canto IV
• Canto V
• Canto VI
• Canto VII
• Canto VIII
• Canto IX
• Canto X
• Canto XI
• Canto XII

This work published before January 1, 1923 is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.