Queen Mab--by Shelley

1、Queen Mab-By Shelley nQueen Mab, A Philosophical Poem, published in 1813 in nine cantos with seventeen notes, was the first large poetic work written by Shelley (1792-1822). After substantial reworking, a revised edition of a portion of the text was published in 1816 under the title The Daemon(守护神守护

2、神)of the World. 4 Aspects n1) History n2) Synopsis (摘要，梗概；大纲摘要，梗概；大纲) n3) Appreciation of the poem n4) Remarks History nThis poem was written early in Shelleys career and serves as a foundation to his theory of revolution. It was his first major poem. In this work, he depicts a two-pronged (两个方面) re

3、volt (造反,起义) involving necessary changes, brought on by both nature and the virtuousness (贞德,高 洁)of humans. History nShelley took William Godwins idea of necessity and combined it with his own idea of ever-changing nature, to establish the theory that contemporary societal evils would dissolve natur

4、ally in time. This was to be coupled with the creation of a virtuous mentality in people who could envision the ideal goal of a perfect society. History nThe ideal was to be reached incrementally, because Shelley (as a result of Napoleons actions in the French Revolution), believed that the perfect

5、society could not be obtained immediately through violent revolution. Instead it was to be achieved through natures evolution and ever-greater numbers of people becoming virtuous and imagining a better society. History nThe poem was considered illegal, William Clark (the first publisher) was impriso

6、ned for 4 months for publishing and distributing Queen Mab. nThe British bookseller Richard Carlile issued a new edition of the poem in the 1820s. In spite of prosecution from the Vice Society, Carlile was encouraged by the popularity Shelleys poem enjoyed with the working classes, progressives, and

7、 reformers into producing four separate editions of Queen Mab during the 1820s. Between 1821 and the 1830s over a dozen pirated editions of Queen Mab were produced and distributed among and by the laboring classes fueling, and becoming a bible for Chartismn(19世世 纪英国的宪章运动纪英国的宪章运动). Synopsis nThe poem

8、 is written in the form of a fairy tale that presents a future vision of a utopia on earth, consisting of nine cantos and seventeen notes. Queen Mab, a fairy, descends in a chariot to a dwelling where Ianthe is sleeping on a couch. Queen Mab detaches Ianthes spirit or soul from her sleeping body and

9、 transports it on a celestial tour to Queen Mabs palace at the edge of the universe. nQueen Mab interprets, analyzes, and explains Ianthes dreams. She shows her visions of the past, present, and the future. The past and present are characterized by oppression, injustice, misery, and suffering caused

10、 by monarchies, commerce, and religion. In the future, however, the condition of man will be improved and a utopia will emerge. Two key points are emphasized: 1) death is not to be feared; and, 2) the future offers the possibility of perfectibility. Humanity and nature can be reconciled and work in

11、unison and harmony, not against each other. Synopsis nOf the seventeen notes, six deal with the issues of atheism (eizm无神论) vegetarianism(素食主义), free love, the role of necessity in the physical and spiritual realm（王国）, and the relationship of Christ and the precepts（ 规诫，戒律，箴言）of Christianity. nThe t

12、heme of the work is the perfectibility （完全性）of man by moral means. Synopsis nHe was animated to greater zeal by compassion for his fellow-creatures. His sympathy was excited by the misery with which the world is bursting. He witnessed the sufferings of the poor, and was aware of the evils of ignoran

13、ce. He desired to induce every rich man to despoil himself of superfluity, and to create a brotherhood of property and service, and was ready to be the first to lay down the advantages of his birth. Synopsis n He was of too uncompromising a disposition to join any party. He desired that these years

14、should be useful and illustrious. He saw, in a fervent call on his fellow-creatures to share alike the blessings of the creation, to love and serve each other, the noblest work that life and time permitted him. In this spirit he composed Queen Mab. Appreciation nThe first canto opens as Henry stands

15、 over the sleeping body of Ianthe, wondering if she be alive or dead. In a whirl of sound and light, Mab, the Fairy Queen, descends to the maiden in her chariot. Mabs fantastic appearance is described; she commands Ianthes spirit to arise, and it separates from the body. Her virtuous Spirit enters t

16、he car, and they ascend high into the starry spheres. Appreciation nHow wonderful is Death, Death and his brother Sleep! One, pale as yonder waning moon With lips of lurid blue; The other, rosy as the morn When throned on oceans wave It blushes oer the world: Yet both so passing wonderful! Hath then

17、 the gloomy Power Appreciation n死是多么神！ n睡眠是他的兄弟。 n一个，苍白得象天边的残月， n有的是青灰色的嘴唇； n另一个，玫瑰红如晨曦， n坐上了海涛铺成的宝座， n腼腆地对着全世界瞭望： n可是两个是一样的神奇！ n莫非那些幽冥的力量 Appreciation Whose reign is in the tainted sepulchres Seized on her sinless soul? Must then that peerless form Which love and admiration cannot view Without a be

18、ating heart, those azure veins Which steal like streams along a field of snow, That lovely outline, which is fair As breathing marble, perish? Remarks nW. J. Courthope: nThe subject of this composition is quite intelligible, viz. the revelation of the universe to a disembodied spirit. The machinery

19、for the execution of the idea is of the simplest kind. Mab, the Fairy, is supposed to carry the spirit in her car to a point from which it can view the whole external order of Nature, of which the poem is made to give an account. In a structure marked by so little poetical invention it is obvious that the attention of the reader can be arrested only by the anti-religious character of the opinions expressed. The descriptions are commonplace History of Engl