Dante's influence on Shelley's Prometheus Unbound

Although the critic C. S. Lewis observes there is an allusive relationship between the final cantos of Dante‟s Purgatory and the third act of Shelley‟s Prometheus Unbound, no detailed analysis of Dante‟s language in Purgatory XXX and XXXI as a specific influence on Shelley‟s construction of imaginary realms in Acts II and III of the lyrical drama Prometheus Unbound exists. In this study, I will show how Shelley borrows from Dante‟s language in Purgatory XXX and XXXI, especially Dante‟s preoccupation with the cold as a form of punishment, to create the feeling of oppression and then liberation, in Acts II and III, respectively, of Prometheus Unbound to aid Shelley in his construction of imaginary realms. Shelley also uses Dantean allusions from Paradise, specifically Dante‟s descriptions of light and music, to help him create a feeling of joy and liberation as he creates a paradise on earth in Act IV of Prometheus Unbound.