Shelley and Byron: Shelley stands with Byron as a poet of revolt, but his devotion to liberty is purer, his love for man is readier to declare in deeds of hope and sympathy; his philosophy of life is ennobled by loftier and more selfless aims. Byron’s cry is, “I am unhappy”. Shelley’s “The world is unhappy and I hope to brighten it.” The two poets in their different ways represent two sides of the French Revolution: Byron its backward destructive side, Shelley, its forward reconstructive idealist side. Byron’s heroes are engrossed egotists at war with society, while Shelley’s typical hero is a noble- minded enthusiast, who willingly becomes a martyr for the cause of man. Shelley applied his noble ideas to his own conduct while Byron was very much like his own Don Juan. In Byron, the intellect is superior and the imagination is subordinate. Byron’s note is one of chaotic despondency, while Shelley is a prophet of hope, looking forward to the Golden Age, when love will save mankind.