Clerval - Frankenstein II

"Clerval! beloved friend! Even now it delights me to record your words, and to dwell on the praiseof which you are so eminently deserving. He was a being formed in the 'very poetry of nature'" (113).

When Shelley uses the "very poetry of nature" to describe Clerval, she is making an allusion to The Story of Rimini by Leigh Hunt. In the story, those words are used to describe the prince Paola who takes the place of his brother to wed Francesca. When Francesca is told that her betrothed will not be there to marry her, she is rather upset, but when Paola arrives and realizes her discomfort, he soon mends the scene. As Clerval is formed in the "very nature of poetry," he similarly realizes discomfort or unhappiness and works to mend it.

http://books.google.com/books?id=0xhcAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR8&lpg=PR8&dq=the+story+of+rimini+summary&source=bl&ots=SMuvlWrUKq&sig=SJNMr6RKMWjy96mYfuaj8YWVFF0&hl=en&ei=GHK4TpndEcjA2gWWqujMDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CFwQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=Very%20poetry%20of%20nature&f=false