Percy Bysshe Shelley



Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) was an English poet during the cultural Romantic era. His second wife was Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein.

In The Muppet Show episode 407, Gonzo's act requires the audience to maintain complete silence as he defuses a bomb while reciting Shelley's "To a Skylark". He makes it through the first verse:


 * Hail to thee, blithe Spirit!
 * Bird thou never wert,
 * That from Heaven, or near it,
 * Pourest thy full heart
 * In profuse strains of unpremeditated art.

...when M.A.M.M.A. sneaks up behind him and plays a musical sting, causing the bomb to explode, ending Gonzo's act. M.A.M.M.A. is sufficiently destroyed, but Gonzo calls the act a triumph.