Prometheus

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1816

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Form and Meter

“Prometheus” mainly follows strict iambic tetrameter, meaning the lines typically consist of an unstressed/stressed pattern and four metrical feet, usually eight or nine syllables per line. A perfect example of the poem’s typical meter is in the fourth line: “Were not / as things / that Gods / despise.” Most of the lines in the poem follow this perfect iambic meter.

However, the poem does make some exceptions to the iambic tetrameter pattern. For one, the first line of the poem opens with a trochee instead of an iamb: “Titan!” This opening is significant because it both places the focus on Prometheus and opens with a rejection of the poem’s typical meter. This is an example of form matching content as Prometheus’s crime was rebellion, and here, even his introduction rebels against the rest of the poem’s meter.

While the poem contains many rhymes, there is no repetitive rhyme pattern. Byron utilizes a number of patterns, including ABBA, AABB, and ABAB. There are also some lines that do not end rhyme but contain internal rhymes like “die/thine” in lines 23 and 25. Some lines do not have any rhymes, including the final line, though this is often supplemented with alliteration: “Triumphant where it dares defy / And making Death a Victory” (Lines 58-59). In fact, Byron utilizes alliteration consistently throughout the entire poem. This is apparent right from the beginning: “Titan! to whose immortal eyes / The sufferings of mortality, / Seen in their sad reality” (Lines 1-3).

Apostrophe

Apostrophe refers to the point of view in this poem. “Prometheus” is a poem of address directed to the titan himself. We see this right away as the poem opens with the exclamation “Titan!” and repeats it at the beginning of the second stanza.

Apostrophe is often used in odes, best exemplified by the Romantic poet John Keats. The ode is a poem that directly addresses a subject and speaks to it in glorified, often allegorical terms. “Prometheus” is similar to the ode in that the speaker speaks directly to Prometheus and glorifies him while also using the image of Prometheus as a metaphor for the bigger concept the poem is exploring.

The use of apostrophe is also appropriate considering the Greek mythological subject matter. In ancient Greek stories like Homer’s The Odyssey, the poet often invokes the Muses in a similar way, as if to use them to gain inspiration. This is similar to what the speaker is doing in this poem: calling upon the titan in order to be inspired and to inspire.

Allusion

This entire poem is an allusion to the story of Prometheus and Zeus. The speaker references a number of aspects of the myth without offering full explanations for them. The expectation is that the reader is familiar with the story and its images.

The most obvious example of this is the line “The rock, the vulture, and the chain” (Line 7). Here, the speaker is referring to the rock that Prometheus was chained up to and the vulture (or eagle) that came and devoured his liver every day. The speaker alludes to these aspects of the myth but does not describe them. It’s as if the speaker does not wish to go into detail because it would be too painful. The nouns are enough.

Another example of allusion is to the images of thunder and lightning the speaker uses to describe Zeus. He names Zeus “the Thunderer” (Line 26) and refers to the “lightnings” in his hand (Line 34). He never actually names Zeus throughout the entire poem. This, again, falls in line with ancient Greek poetry, as oftentimes the poet would refer to gods by their titles, such as "the Thunderer for" Zeus or "Earthshaker" for Poseidon. The titles and descriptions of the gods' powers give them even more terrifying power than simply referring to them by their names.