Shelley’s numerals

The manuscripts and notebooks of Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) contain several thousand numerical notations, from verse line counts to records of household expenses. Perhaps the most intriguing are the numerals representing large numbers over 500,000. Many have puzzled Shelley’s greatest editors and remain unexplained in studies of his work. Why are they here? Where do they originate? What is their relationship to nearby materials? This article addresses these questions by examining a selection of the largest numerals in Shelley’s manuscripts and notebooks of 1817–22. It newly identifies the sources from which these numerals are drawn, including newspaper articles and books the poet consulted, and traces their connection to ideas in his great political essay, A Philosophical View of Reform, composed during the winter of 1819–20. The article also considers the significance of numerical representation itself. It outlines how Shelley’s numerals relate to his epistemological thought and achieve certain effects in his works for publication. Using a method of literary-numerical criticism, the article thus places the numerals centre stage to offer a fresh way of approaching the poet’s mature writings.