The Revolt of Islam

The Revolt of Islam

Cover, circa 1818
Author	Percy Bysshe Shelley
Original title	Laon and Cythna; or, The Revolution of the Golden City: A Vision of the Nineteenth Century
Language	English language
Genre	Poem, canto and religious
Publication date	1818
Publication place	United Kingdom

The Revolt of Islam (1818) is a poem in twelve cantos composed by Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1817.^[1] The poem was originally published under the title Laon and Cythna; or, The Revolution of the Golden City: A Vision of the Nineteenth Century by Charles and James Ollier in December 1817.^{[citation needed]} Shelley composed the work in the vicinity of Bisham Woods, near Great Marlow in Buckinghamshire, northwest of London, from April to September. The plot centres on two characters named Laon and Cythna, inhabitants of Argolis under Ottoman rule who initiate a revolution against its despotic ruler. Despite its title, the poem is not focused on Islam as a specific religion, though the general subject of religion is addressed, and the work draws on Orientalist archetypes and themes. The work is a symbolic parable on liberation and revolutionary idealism following the disillusionment of the French Revolution.