Jupiter, the Lord of the gods, ascended the throne with the help of Prometheus, the giant, and then exercised autocratic rule, which brought pain and disaster to mankind. To save mankind, Prometheus stole the fire of wisdom from the sky. Jupiter turned evil into good, locked him on a Caucasus cliff that eagles could not cross, and told the eagle to peck his heart every day. After 3000 years, he is still steadfast and firmly believes that the end of Jupiter will come. Later, Jupiter was really thrown into hell, Prometheus was liberated from the cliff by Hercules, and the whole universe was bright, and all mankind were celebrating happily.
2. The theme of this poem is as follows:
In his poems, Shelley expressed his political ideal against tyranny, praised the struggle against tyranny and looked forward to a free and happy society. The poetic drama regards Jupiter as a symbol of the feudal tyrant in Europe during the period of "Holy Alliance". He was cruel and treacherous and established an autocratic rule in suppressing the bloodshed of the people. He is full of ambition, thinking that "power is supreme, status is supreme, and everything is subject to me", but he has a premonition of unstable rule and is afraid that the people's resistance will shake his throne. All kinds of "ghosts" around Jupiter,
It symbolizes priests, politicians and thugs who colluded with feudal rulers. The poet accused them of being a group of "running dogs fed by moaning and blood". Poetic drama enthusiastically shaped the glorious image of Prometheus, a rebel who fought tirelessly for the freedom and liberation of mankind. In the face of powerful enemies, Prometheus was not afraid of threats or cruel torture by tyrants. He firmly believes that light will triumph over darkness and tyrants will fall. Shelley's Prometheus not only summarizes the revolutionary spirit and heroism of bourgeois revolutionaries in resisting autocratic rule and striving for freedom and liberation, but also embodies the poet's own firm stand and great character.
Prometheus Liberated also enthusiastically depicts the happy world after the fall of the tyrant and the liberation of the people: "Human beings are no longer ruled by imperial power, unrestrained and free, and all human beings are equal from now on." The beautiful society predicted by the poet played a positive role in encouraging bourgeois democratic forces to oppose feudal forces at that time. Therefore, Engels called Shelley a "genius prophet". Of course, Shelley's blueprint for the future world does not go beyond the category of "rational kingdom", it contains fantasy elements.