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About this quote

What does it mean?
Hell is compared to London, described as a crowded and polluted urban center.
In plain terms
London is so bad it feels like hell.
What can you take from it?
Crowded cities can feel oppressive.

Where it applies

  • commenting on cities
  • writing poetry
  • describing pollution

Putting it to work

  • critiquing urbanization
  • describing settings

Questions to consider

  • What makes a city feel like hell?
  • How do you feel about crowds?

Another view

It uses hyperbole to criticize a specific place.

More from Percy Bysshe Shelley

  1. O lift me from the grass! I die! I faint! I fail! Let thy love in kisses rain On my lips and eyelids pale. My cheek is cold and white, alas! My heart beats lou…

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  2. Teas, Where small talk dies in agonies.

    Permalink to quote #32
  3. I arise from dreams of thee In the first sweet sleep of night, When the winds are breathing low, And the stars are shining bright.

    Permalink to quote #29

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