Shelley was eighteen when he wrote “Queen Mab”; he never published it.  When it was written, 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.’  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.  It is 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.  But the poem is too beautiful in itself, and far too remarkable as the production of a boy of eighteen, to allow of its being passed over:  besides that, having been frequently reprinted, the omission would be vain.  In the former edition certain portions were left out, as shocking the general reader from the violence of their attack on religion.  I myself had a painful feeling that such erasures might be looked upon as a mark of disrespect towards the author, and am glad to have the opportunity of restoring them.  The notes also are reprinted entire—­not because they are models of reasoning or lessons of truth, but because Shelley wrote them, and that all that a man at once so distinguished and so excellent ever did deserves to be preserved.  The alterations his opinions underwent ought to be recorded, for they form his history.

A series of articles was published in the “New Monthly Magazine” during the autumn of the year 1832, written by a man of great talent, a fellow-collegian and warm friend of Shelley:  they describe admirably the state of his mind during his collegiate life.  Inspired with ardour for the acquisition of knowledge, endowed with the keenest sensibility and with the fortitude of a martyr, Shelley came among his fellow-creatures, congregated for the purposes of education, like a spirit from another sphere; too delicately organized for the rough treatment man uses towards man, especially in the season of youth, and too resolute in carrying out his own sense of good and justice, not to become a victim.  To a devoted attachment to those he loved he added a determined resistance to oppression.  Refusing to fag at Eton, he was treated with revolting cruelty by masters and boys:  this roused instead of taming his spirit, and he rejected the duty of obedience when it was enforced by menaces and punishment.  To aversion to the society of his fellow-creatures, such as he found them when collected together in societies, where one egged on the other to acts of tyranny, was joined the deepest sympathy and compassion; while the attachment he felt for individuals, and the admiration with which he regarded their powers and their virtues, led him to entertain a high opinion of the perfectibility of human nature; and he believed that all could reach the highest grade of moral improvement, did not the customs and prejudices of society foster evil passions and excuse evil actions.