Lyric Poem · Nature

To Sophia [Miss Stacey]

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Reading room

1Thou art fair, and few are fairer

2Of the Nymphs of earth or ocean;

3They are robes that fit the wearer —

4Those soft limbs of thine, whose motion

5Ever falls and shifts and glances

6As the life within them dances.

7Thy deep eyes, a double Planet,

8Gaze the wisest into madness

9With soft clear fire, — the winds that fan it

10Are those thoughts of tender gladness

11Which, like zephyrs on the billow,

12Make thy gentle soul their pillow.

13If, whatever face thou paintest

14In those eyes, grows pale with pleasure,

15If the fainting soul is faintest

16When it hears thy harp's wild measure,

17Wonder not that when thou speakest

18Of the weak my heart is weakest.

19As dew beneath the wind of morning,

20As the sea which whirlwinds waken,

21As the birds at thunder's warning,

22As aught mute yet deeply shaken,

23As one who feels an unseen spirit

24Is my heart when thine is near it.

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“To Sophia [Miss Stacey]” by Percy Bysshe Shelley — quilloak.com/poems/to-sophia-miss-stacey

Quick facts

Poem: To Sophia [Miss Stacey]
Poet: Percy Bysshe Shelley
Length: 24 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Nature, Love, Peace

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Shape: 24 lines · 4 sestets
Line length: Mostly 8-syllable lines (tetrameter length).

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Author record: Percy Bysshe Shelley1792–1822
Source record: PoetryDBTo Sophia [Miss Stacey] by percy-bysshe-shelley, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 42b3d331cd086568…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Nature Love Peace

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