ABSTRACT
Shelley was eighteen when “Queen Mab” was written:5 he never published it. When he wrote it,6 he had come to the decision that he was too young to be a “judge of controversies;” and he was desirous of acquiring “that sobriety of spirit which is the characteristic of true heroism. ”b But he never doubted the truth or utility of his opinions; and in printing and privately distributing “Queen Mab” he believed that he should further their dissemination, without occasioning the mischief either to others or himself that might arise from publication. The poem has since been frequently reprinted;c and it is too well known, and the poetry is too beautiful, to allow of its being omitted, although it is7 doubtful whether he would himself have admitted it into a collection of his works. His severe classical taste, refined by the constant study of the Greek poets, might have discovered defects that escape the ordinary reader, and the change his opinions underwent in many points, would have prevented him / from putting forth the speculations of his boyish days. To a certain extent, the same motives influence me. Were the poem still in manuscript, even less might be given; – as it is, such portions are omitted as support, in intemperate language, opinions to which at that age he was passionately attached.8
