Queen Mab: A Philosophical Poem

“Queen Mab” is an epic, utopian poem by the English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley is most well-known for his epic masterpiece, “Prometheus Unbound,” and his poems “Ozymandias,” “Ode to the West Wind,” and “The Mask of Anarchy.” Written when Shelley was only 18 years old, “Queen Mab” was initially published anonymously in 1813 due to its radical political content. However, after the poem was illegally distributed and gained popularity, Shelley published it formally in 1816 after making edits to soften the poem’s radical message. Shelley dedicated this poem to Harriet Westbrook Shelley, his first wife. Their daughter Ianthe shares the same name as the poem’s heroine.

The poem includes nine cantos Shelley called books, which chronicle the spiritual journey of Ianthe. After Ianthe falls asleep, she is visited by the powerful folkloric fairy Queen Mab, who casts a spell to allow Ianthe’s soul to separate from her body. As they journey through the cosmos, Queen Mab shows Ianthe’s spirit a vision of the past, present, and future of humankind. Through Queen Mab’s commentary on the past and present, Shelley disparages civilization, criticizing wealth and social inequality, industrialization, religion, and traditional morality.