Shelley’s Queen Mab and Alasto Poetry Influence and Impact on Poetic Literature

Influences of Shelley’s Poetry and Its Impact on the Poetic Literature

Shelley did not find fame in his early life. Still, his poetic and literary work inspired many people, including Arabic poets, in the Apollo movement, following his death. Queen Mab came as Shelley’s first major poem, and in Alastor, Shelley progressed into the poetic style and character that would be seen in his later mature works.  In Queen Mab, Shelley’s poetic form lacks the dominating protagonist that became typical of his later “Shelleyan” poems, including Alastor (Blank 87). As such, in Queen Mab, Shelley expresses his early views that highlight some elements of didacticism. His notes in Queen Mab allude to his youthful style as he touches on multiple aspects, such as vegetarianism and astronomy. While Queen Mab presented an organized and chronologic, Alastor highlighted the narrative and dramatic Shelleyan style. Therefore, Alastor became an essential introduction to the mature Shelley mature style featuring a dominant struggling protagonist that conveys an emotional, rather than logical, commitment.

Queen Mab and Alasto Conclusion

Some influences on Shelley included William Wordsworth, his father-in-law, the philosopher William Wordsworth, Leigh Hunt, and his close friend Thomas Love Peacock. As Shelley’s poetic style matured, Wordsworth’s influence on his character appeared in his work. For example, the poet illustrated in his Alastor poem related to Shelley’s idea of Wordsworth (Blank 87). The poet protagonist in Alastor shows elements of originality and poetic self-determination. As a result, the Wordsworth figure appears in his work in Alastor and other poems as he matures into his style. In Queen Mab, Shelley grew into ambiguity, which afterward became a hallmark of exploratory poetry, influenced by close associates such as Peacock (Callaghan 23). As he leaves the youthful style of Queen Mab, it’s the new style that helps him become successful and attain global recognition for his work.

Shelley’s poems influenced late Victorian-era poets in the Arab region, especially his works with romantic poetry, including the Apollo movement. In the early twentieth century, as British colonial rule penetrated the Arab Peninsula, Shelley’s work reached Arab poets. For example, according to the bibliography of Arabic translations, Shelley’s novels became the most translated in English literature to the Arab language, including Apollo (Fakhreddine 24). As a result, Shelley’s style in works such as Alastor comes evident in the Apollo movement’s themes and imagery of romantic poems in the region between 1910 and 1950 (Fakhreddine 25). As the Apollo movement constituted Arab poets that mostly drew their influence from western romantics, Shelley became a favorite, leading to various planarization of his work in their literature. Furthermore, as Apollo sort of revived Arabic poetry among young Arab poets, works such as Shelley’s became a cornerstone in their rebuilding efforts.

In Alastor, Shelley wrote of an Arab maiden that got rejected by the poet in his pursuit of his ultimate idealized woman before drifting into a dream with supernatural elements as well as an element of human love. Such poetic lyrical style associated with some of Shelley’s work, where he separated himself from humanity, got revealed in the poetic techniques of some Arabic romantic poets in the Victorian age and the Apollo movement (Fakhreddine 24). Further, Queen Mab Shelley’s de-politicized image expressed in short lyrics also became evident in Arab Romantic poetry (Fakhreddine 25). As such, Shelley’s work significantly influenced Arabic Roman poetry and the Apollo movement.

Works Cited

Blank, G. Kim. Wordsworth’s Influence On Shelley. 1st ed., Palgrave Macmillan Limited, 1988.

Callaghan, Madeleine. Shelley’s Living Artistry. Liverpool University Press, 2017.

Fakhreddine, Huda J. Metapoesis: The Arabic Tradition: From Modernists To Muḥdathūn. Brill, 2015.