 In the persons of these martyrs, Shelley has striven to embody his ideas of the power and beauty of human affections, and, in their history, he has set forth a series of pictures, illustrating the efficacy of these affections in overcoming the evils of private and of public life.As the poem opens, Laon and Cythna live in daydreams of delight.This tranquility is soon shattered.