Charles the First is an unfinished historical verse drama by Percy Bysshe Shelley written in 1822. It focuses on the tyrannical rule of King Charles I of England, his conflict with Parliament, and the events leading to the English Civil War. It was originally published in 1824 in Posthumous Poems in London by John and Henry L. Hunt but only in brief fragments.Shelley, Percy Bysshe. Posthumous Poems. London: John and Henry L. Hunt, 1824. In later publications, more content was added.

Shelley portrays the King as an absolute monarch, clinging to power, while portraying the rebels or revolutionaries as flawed, highlighting the struggle for liberty against religious and political oppression.

Background

The key themes are tyranny and resistance. The play examines the conflict between a "stubborn" king relying on his divine right to rule and the popular movement against his arbitrary taxation and oppressive policies.

Shelley focuses on King Charles I of England, Queen Henrietta, William Laud, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, portrayed as a villainous "apostate" who aids and abets the monarch’s oppressive regime.

The revolution or rebellion was imperfect, however, because both sides were imbued with selfishness and badly executed ideals.

It was written in 1822 during a period when Shelley sought to highlight parallels between prior English history and contemporary political conflicts over the monarchy and arbitrary rule.

The work is referred to as a "fragmentary drama", a "closet drama", a "historical drama," and an "unfinished tragedy". Shelley postponed work on the play to focus on The Triumph of Life.

Like in The Cenci and Julian and Maddalo, it demonstrates Shelley's ability to create nuanced dramatic characters.Mulhallen, Jacqueline. The Theatre of Shelley. Routledge, 2016. 297-311. Open Book Publishers. Chapter 4: Chapter Four: Turning History into Art – Charles the First, p. 115-146.

It examines the persecutions of that time, "martyred saints" and religious conflict, showing the political chaos and turmoil of 17th-century Britain.

The dichotomy is between tyranny and freedom: Shelley examines the moral collapse of a monarch and despot who tramples the rights and liberties of the people, similar to themes in his other political works such as The Revolt of Islam (1817), The Cenci (1819), The Mask of Anarchy (1819), "Song to the Men of England" (1819), "England in 1819", and Oedipus Tyrannus; or, Swellfoot the Tyrant (1820).

It dramatizes the conflicts leading up to the English Civil War, focusing on the tension between the king and Parliament, while portraying the rebels as internally divided and ambitious.

The play draws historical parallels between the English Civil War and the French Revolution, showing the pitfalls of reform movements and the dangers of extreme political change.

He emphasized the "abortive" nature of the rebellion, achieving a revolution for which the people are not fully prepared or ready for.

Shelley intended the play for the stage, like with The Cenci, but temporarily suspended work on it because he found it difficult to fully realize the "severe and high feelings" he wanted to dramatize: "One can see that Charles the First was intended for the stage from the first scene."Mulhallen, Jacqueline. The Theatre of Shelley. Routledge, 2016. 297-311. Open Book Publishers. Chapter 4: Chapter Four: Turning History into Art – Charles the First, pp. 115-146. Shelley informed Edward John Trelawny that "I am now writing a play for the stage. It is affectation to say we write a play for any other purpose. The subject is from English history".Trelawny, Edward John. Records of Shelley, Byron and the Author. London: Pickering and Chatto, 1887, p. 79.

The dramatic scenes focus primarily on the conflict between King Charles the First with Parliament and the rising power of Puritan reformers.

Publication history

The play was left unfinished in 1822 on Shelley's death. It was first published in 1824 in Posthumous Poems as a fragment of 460 lines, edited and compiled by his wife Mary Shelley. In the 1839 edition, more lines were added to bring the total to 540.Shelley, Percy Bysshe. The Poetical Works. Volume IV. Edited by Mary Shelley. London: Edward Moxon, 1839. pp. 185-197.

William Michael Rossetti, in his 1870 edition of Shelley's Complete Poetical Works, restored, expanded, and reorganized the poem by transcribing previously unpublished manuscript fragments left out of earlier editions and splicing them into the text to create a significantly larger, comprehensive version of the play. The Rossetti additions brought the total number of lines to 820.Shelley, Percy Bysshe. The Poetical Works. Vol. 2. Edited by William Michael Rosetti. London: Edward Moxon, 1870.

The play appeared in The Complete Poetical Works edited by Thomas Hutchinson in an edition published by Oxford in London in 1914.Shelley, Percy Bysshe. The Complete Poetical Works. Edited by Thomas Hutchinson. London: Oxford, 1914.

Summary

Act 1. Scene 1.

Scene 1 of Percy Bysshe Shelley's unfinished drama Charles the First is set in London during a lavish, royalist Masque at the Inns of Court. It contrasts the King’s opulent and insular court life with the foreboding fears and concerns of ordinary citizens who foresee an impending civil war and bloodshed.

The play opens with a crowd gathered at a Pageant waiting for the arrival of the Queen. They are witnessing a procession coming to a masque. They can hear the music and see the light from the burning torches in the distance. Some spectators support the king while others oppose him. One voices his grievance. He complains that Charles did not help the Huguenots in France: "The remnant of the martyred saints in Rochefort/ Have been abandoned by their faithless allies." (295-294).Shelley, Percy Bysshe. The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Vol. 2. Edited by William Michael Rosetti. London: Edward Moxon, 1870, p. 375.

A Young Man declares that it is "a happy sight to see,/ Beautiful, innocent, and unforbidden/ By God or man" (317-316) and regards the masque as positive and beneficial. He compares it to a dream:

"'tis like the bright procession Of skiey visions in a solemn dream From which men wake as from a Paradise, And draw new strength to tread the thorns of life."Shelley 1870, p. 373.

He tells them to "kill these bitter thoughts which make the present/ Dark as the future!" He warns them not to awaken dormant thoughts:

"When Avarice and Tyranny, vigilant Fear, And open-eyed Conspiracy lie sleeping As on Hell's threshold."Shelley 1870, p. 373.

A Second Citizen is skeptical due to the corrupt nature of political power: "As adders cast their skins/ And keep their venom, so kings often change;/ Councils and counsellors hang on one another,/ Hiding the loathsome. Like the base patchwork of a leper’s rags." All kings seek power and domination, are oppressive and tyrannical.Shelley 1870, p. 376.

The old man makes a prophecy, predicting bloodshed. "Nine years more/ The roots will be refreshed with civil blood." (319-318)Shelley 1870, p. 373.

The Second Citizen cautions about the illusion of peace and the changing tides: "The day that dawns in fire will die in storms, even though the noon be calm." He emphasizes the inevitability of historical change: "Canst thou discern/ The signs of seasons, yet perceive no hint/ Of change in that stage-scene in which thou art/ Not a spectator but an actor?" The Young Man, however, is optimistic and believes that "our country’s wounds/ May yet be healed./ The King is just and gracious". He argues for a more hopeful and peaceful outlook, but he has doubts and misgivings: "O still those dissonant thoughts". (pp. 285-284) (309-308)

The Second Citizen asserts that Charles "must decline/ Amid the darkness of conflicting storms/ To dank extinction and to latest night." (pp. 309-308).Shelley 1870, p. 374.

After the Pursuivant requests a place for the Marshal of the Masque, the First Citizen asks: "What thinkest thou of this quaint masque/ which turns/ Like morning from the shadow of the night/ The night to day/ And London to a place/ Of peace and joy."Shelley 1870, p. 373.

Shelley shows the dichotomy between the extravagance and luxury of those revelers in the masque, the "lilies glorious as Solomon" (pp. 275- 274) and the poverty and decrepitude of the anti-masque participants made up of "cripples beggars and outcasts/ Horsed upon stumbling jades". (pp. 273-272).Shelley 1870, p. 377.

The Second Citizen blames Strafford for his pernicious influence on the King: "There goes/ The apostate Strafford" with "whispered aphorisms/ From Machiavel and Bacon", more brazen and bolder than Judas. (pp. 301-300)Shelley 1870, p. 374.

Both the priests and the religious dissidents are disparaged: The bishops are likened to "crocodiles" while the Puritans follow a "serpent creed". The Archbishop is likened to the Roman Pontiff:

"Rather say the Pope: London will be soon his Rome: he walks As if he trod upon the heads of men."Shelley 1870, p. 374.

The fall of Charles is predicted. "This Charles the First/ Rose like the equinoctial sun." Charles is like the sun which will fall as in sunset. The sun rises "engirt by vapours", surrounded by threatening clouds and fog and gives off a "cold glare, intenser than the noon". The metaphor highlights a monarch who has reached his "height of noon" and is destined to decline rapidly into the "darkness of conflicting storms" and "latest night". This description foreshadows the king's fall, trial, and execution.

The citizens prophecy the civil war that they see coming on the horizon because of the widespread abuses and the oppression and persecution of the people by the monarchy. They foresee that the tyranny will result in a violent revolution and a brutal and bloody reaction and reckoning.

Scene 2

The King convenes a council at Whitehall to address the growing political unrest in the country. Amidst rising Puritan rebellion, Charles, Queen Henrietta Maria, Archbishop Laud, and Lord Strafford discuss strategies for securing funds, enforcing royal absolutism, bypassing an uncooperative Parliament, and suppressing dissent.

The Royal Presence: King Charles I enters a chamber in Whitehall surrounded by his advisors and the Queen. His court jester, Archy, is also present and provides sardonic commentary on the folly and supercilious arrogance of the royal court, acting as a critical and detached observer in a room full of sycophants and cronies. His role as a jester providing him a measure of immunity from retaliation and censure.

After King Charles addresses Laud as "My Lord of Canterbury", Archy announces: "The fool is here." Laud demands that he be chastised for his insolence. Charles makes him stand in the rain for ten minutes, commenting ruefully: "He weaves about himself a world of mirth/ Out of the wreck of ours."Shelley 1870, p. 380-381.

The Queen encourages the King to be firm and resolute in confronting opposition:

"I see the new-born courage in your eye Armed to strike dead the Spirit of the Time, Which spurs to rage the many-headed beast."Shelley 1870, p. 381.

Authoritarian Strategies: The King, in concert with the Queen and Archbishop Laud, bluntly and openly discusses circumventing Parliament and consolidating absolute power. They devise a plan to levy unpopular taxes such as ship money and enact a rigid and strict regimen of religious conformity and uniformity. They dismiss out of hand the grievances of the English people and trample on their rights and freedoms.