105, &c. (To Gisborne, 10 April) 'I know
what to think of _Adonais_, but what to think of those who confound it
with the many bad poems of the day I know not.' This expression seems to
indicate that Mr. Gisborne had sent Shelley some of the current
criticisms--there were probably but few in all--upon _Adonais_: to this
matter I shall recur further on. (To Gisborne, 18 June.) 'The _Adonais_
I wished to have had a fair chance, both because it is a favourite with
me, and on account of the memory of Keats--who was a poet of great
genius, let the classic party say what it will.'
Earlier than the latest of these extracts Shelley had sent to Mr. Severn
a copy of _Adonais_, along with a letter which I append.
'Pisa, Nov. 29th, 1821.
'DEAR SIR,
'I send you the Elegy on poor Keats, and I wish it were better worth
your acceptance. You will see, by the preface, that it was written
before I could obtain any particular account of his last moments. All
that I still know was communicated to me by a friend who had derived his
information from Colonel Finch, I have ventured [in the Preface] to
express as I felt the respect and admiration which _your_ conduct
towards him demands.
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