SOURCE: Blood, Roger. “Allegory and Dramatic Representation in The Cenci.” Studies in Romanticism 33, no. 3 (fall 1994): 355-89.

In the following essay, Blood comments on The Cenci's critical reception and considers theoretical interpretations of the play.

To judge from the work of Shelley's recent critics, The Cenci has now taken its place securely in the canon of Shelley's work. The ambivalence concerning its aesthetic stature and lingering doubts about its suitability for performance have been set aside in favor of thematic considerations—rape, incest, murder, deceit, and the abuse of power—more in line with our contemporary tastes. None of the questions which formerly inhibited the canonization of The Cenci have been resolved: its stage history has remained short enough to document,¹ and the battles over its aesthetic stature have been abandoned rather than won. The Cenci's theatrical and theoretical potential has as consequence yet to be realized...