Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) was born to a wealthy family of Sussex aristocrats, merchants, and politicians. He was sent to Eton and Oxford, where he endured teasing because of his slight build and eccentric manner. Perhaps as a consequence of being belittled, he developed a passionate will to defeat injustice by being "meek and bold."

His closest friend at Oxford was Thomas Jefferson Hogg. They both loved philosophy and were opposed to conventional ideas. Shelley's passion for justice and intellectual freedom, combined with his determination to live consistently with his ideals, led him into a number of difficult spots. After only six months at Oxford, he was expelled for having circulated a pamphlet titled "The Necessity of Atheism," behavior which did not sit well with Oxford officials. Soon afterward, he moved to Ireland, determined to reform the world, beginning with organizing the Irish into what he called a "society of peace and love." After the failure of this venture, he moved to Wales at the age of nineteen and wrote a pamphlet called "Declaration of Rights," which he published by putting copies in green bottles he threw in the ocean and in balloons he released into the air. He was an idealistic young man who was unafraid to proclaim and live his ideals. Shelley traveled to London and eloped to Edinburgh with the daughter of a London tavern keeper. Shelley and his wife then went to Ireland, where he delivered his Address to the Irish People, which favored Catholic emancipation and social justice for Ireland.

In 1813, Shelley printed his first serious piece, Queen Mab, a poem that prophesied a future of happiness, equality, and a return to nature for humankind. Soon afterward, Shelley fell in love with Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin. Shelley left his wife, Harriet, and fled to France with Mary, though he later invited Harriet to come live in a "sisterly" relationship with him. Mary's father, despite being a social radical himself, was furious with Shelley for compromising his daughter. When Shelley returned to London, he found that he had created something of a scandal.

The Shelleys later moved to Pisa, Italy. On July 8, 1822, Shelley and a friend were sailing in an open boat, the Don Juan, when a storm capsized their vessel. Neither survived. At the age of twenty-nine, Shelley was buried in Rome near his fellow poet John Keats.