Love And Nature In Prometheus Unbound

She is, as Prometheus says, the chalice or containing vessel for the overflow of his being. He is to her, as she says, the soul or animating principle by which she lives. Neither could exist without the other" (Cousins, 30). In Prometheus Unbound, the actions, thoughts, and words of Prometheus and Asia reveal this definition of Shelley's Divine Love. Before Prometheus and Asia are able to embrace each other in this divine fashion, they both must retain idealized virtues of love. This serves as a hindrance for Prometheus, for he must first fight the internal battle that wages deep within before he can rid himself of the external.
             Prometheus suffers due to his opposition toward the tyrannous Jupiter and thus becomes the spirit and creator of humanity. His demand to free mankind becomes the source of his suffering, but by suffering he "gave to man those things out of which, bewildered though he be, man might better his own state: hope, and love to heal him when through hope he is wounded; fire, and speech from which thought, "the measure of the universe," may be created- (Weaver, 18). .
             "The external struggle for Prometheus is clear: .
             Of their moon-freezing chrystals; the bright chains .
             Eat with their burning cold into my bones. .
             Heaven's winged hound, polluting from thy lips .
             His beak in poison not his own, tears up .
             My heart;" .
             (P.U. I. i. 32-36). .
             The evils that terrorize him are minute compared to his internal battle. Before he can break through from the physical pain and torture, he must first reconcile his internal self. There is another notion that can be set into play, which is the idea of self-love. Before there can be a perfect union with another, there must first be self-love. A human must love his own individualistic self before he can find a true loving companion. If one does not know and completely love himself/herself, then how can one find another to match in perfect harmony? Therefore, before Prometheus can free his bonds, he must love himself, but before he can attain self-love, he must withstand the internal agony.