Appearing in January 1818,
The Revolt of Islamwas a significantly revised and re-issued version of
Laon and Cythna; or The Revolution of the Golden City, which Shelley had composed between the spring and early autumn 1817 and Charles Ollier had first published in December 1817 and, then, fearing prosecution, quickly withdrawn from publication. The judicious changes made to
Laon and Cythna, before its re-issue as
The Revolt of Islam, included altering specific phrases that pertained to the subject of religion and the precise nature of the relationship between the male and female protagonists of the poem (explicitly brother and sister in the original version), as well as the removal of the Preface’s final paragraph, in which Shelley questioned the moral sensibilities of his readership by…
559 words
Citation: Sandy, Mark. "The Revolt of Islam". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 August 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7582, accessed 25 November 2024.]
