The Triumph of Life

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1824

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

Light

Light is the central symbol of the poem and takes on several forms. In the first section of the poem, the “birth / of light” (Line 6-7) at sunrise represents a beginning. It also develops the theme of The Power of Nature. The “icy cold [...] light” (Line 78) of the chariot represents the power of life. This blinding light can compete with the sun’s light, placing the power of the visionary near to the power of nature. Light of the sun and the chariot is associated with truth. Rousseau also describes a mysterious “shape all light” (Line 352). It is characterized as female and holding a crystal glass, which refracts light. However, it is not as powerful as the chariot’s “light’s severe excess” (Line 424). While the power of life, symbolized in its chariot’s radiance, can compete with the power of nature, the “shape all light” (Line 352) is a less powerful force than both life and nature:

‘And the fair shape waned in the coming light

As veil by veil the silent splendour drops

From Lucifer, amid the chrysolite

‘Of sunrise (Lines 412-15).

This references the imagery of Lucifer as the Light-Bearer or morning star. There are also the multiple references to Iris (Line 440), which is a rainbow, or a refraction of light. The poem’s light symbolism has many facets.

Tempering

An important motif in the poem is tempering, or mixing, which develops the theme of The Dualities of Life. The light in the poem is often tempered with darkness. One example of this is how a “Shadow” (Line 94) is the charioteer in the chariot of life. This figure is “[t]empering the light” (Line 93). This symbolically represents how life is accompanied by death. Tempering is also used to describe love’s power. Rousseau’s heart, “which neither age, / Nor tears nor infamy nor now the tomb / Could temper to its object” (Lines 241-43). The spirit of humans can be tempered with age, sorrow, evil deeds, death, or love in this example. Tempering, or temperance, also comes up in relation to ancient Greek poets whose “living melody / Tempers its own contagion to the vein / Of those who are infected with it” (Lines 276-78). In other words, they are more restrained than the heroes in their epic poems.

Triumphs

Shelley’s poem revolves around the symbolism of the triumphs. A triumph is basically a parade around a chariot, or car, that represents victory and conquering. Shelley compares the chariot of life with a “triumphal pageant” (Line 118) of “Imperial Rome” (Line 113). The empire of Rome celebrated conquering people in their pageants, or parades. These appear most notably in Petrarch’s Trionfi (Triumphs). Scholar Wendy Lozano, argues in her thesis about Shelley’s poem that, “Shelley notably combines Petrarch’s six triumphs—Love, Chastity, Death, Fame, Time, and Eternity—into the narrative development of the poem” (Lozano, Wendy. “The Triumph Motif in Shelley’s Triumph of Life.” University of Florida, 2012). Shelley has one triumphal figure, life, rather than multiple triumphal figures like Petrarch. Scholars, such as Gertrude Moakley, argue that the illuminated manuscript of Petrarch’s Trionfi connects his triumphs with the triumphs, or trump cards, of the tarot. The most notable is the Chariot tarot card, which offers a visual representation of what Shelley describes.