In George Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language” which author is Orwell referring to as “seventeenth-century Shelley”.
My best guess is Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851) author of Frankenstein. Does that seem reasonable?
Thank you.
Since Shelley lived in the 19th century, Orwell is referring to someone who lived in the 1600s.
In George Orwell's essay "Politics and the English Language," when Orwell refers to "seventeenth-century Shelley," he is indeed referring to Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the author of "Frankenstein." However, it's worth noting that Orwell's reference to Shelley being from the seventeenth century is actually a mistake. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, was born in 1797 and lived in the early nineteenth century, not the seventeenth century.
To confirm this information, you can refer to Orwell's essay "Politics and the English Language." In the essay, Orwell talks about the decline of the English language and mentions several authors, including Shelley.