Epipsychidion is an important poem published in 1821 by Percy Bysshe Shelley. The poem had a subtitle: Verses addressed to the noble and unfortunate Lady Emilia V—, now imprisoned in the convent of —. The title comes from Greek words meaning "concerning or about a little soul." The word epipsychidion is made from epi, meaning "around" or "about," and psychidion, meaning "little soul."

Background

Countess Teresa Viviani, the daughter of the governor of Pisa, was nineteen years old. Her father had placed her in the Convent of Saint Anna. Shelley visited her several times and wrote to her briefly. After the work was published by Charles and James Ollier in London, Shelley asked them to stop distributing it. One possible reason was that readers might see the poem as a story about real events from Shelley’s life. Shelley called it "an idealized history of my life and feelings." The poem includes parts of Shelley’s own life and was written for Viviani, whom Shelley met while she was "imprisoned" in 1820.

The main idea of the work is a thoughtful reflection on the nature of perfect love. Shelley supported the idea of free love and criticized traditional marriage, which he called "the weariest and the longest journey." The poem, Epipsychidion, begins with a call to Emilia, who is described as a spiritual sister to the speaker. He calls her a "captive bird" for whose nest his poem will be soft rose petals. He also refers to her as an angel of light, the light of the moon seen through clouds, and a star that shines above all storms.

In a letter dated June 18, 1822, Shelley wrote:

Epipsychidion was written in Pisa during January and February 1821 and was published anonymously in 1821 by Charles and James Ollier in London. The poem was later included in Poetical Works by Mary Shelley in 1839. The Bodleian Library holds a first draft of Epipsychidion, which includes three versions of the "Preface [Advertisement]," a version in ink and pencil of the last eighty lines of the poem, and some additional lines that were not printed.

Shelley told his publisher, Charles Ollier, that he wanted Epipsychidion to be shared only with a small group of people who were knowledgeable or enlightened, called the "esoteric few."

Legacy

E. M. Forster's second novel, The Longest Journey (1907), uses a line from the poem as its title.