"London" by William Blake
and
"England in 1819" by Percy
Bysshe Shelley
Amy Singer
Rita Rushanan
Annika Nosal
Ben Knicely
William Blake
● Lived 1757 - 1827
● Born in London, England
● Wrote "London," published in
1794
● Invented relief etching to
illustrate his written works
● Participated in a number of riots
and protests against issues
such as taxing and oppression
by the church and state
● Associated with several other
radical political thinkers, such as
Thomas Paine
William Blake's Art
Blake often used
his etchings to
illustrate the
overarching
theme that
grouped together
the works he
published inside
Western Europe in 1794
●
The French Revolution
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England is at war with Revolutionary France
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overthrowing the absolute monarchy
liberty and universal rights
radical political and social ideologies
attempt to reestablish monarchy and contain the
revolution
Radicals in England are demanding reforms
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improved representation in Parliament
more democratic system of government
universal suffrage
"London"
Lists the effects the problems in England have on the people
of London.
● Blames are placed on the church and the monarchy (Lines 912).
○ The recklessness of the government during the wars
were costing lives of soldiers.
○ The church was meant to help and protect people, but
has been failing. (chimney sweeps)
● "mind-forged manacles"
○ Blake believes that focusing entirely on the self and one's
own interests creates a mental prison.
○ The juxtaposition of the "charter'd streets" and the
"charter'd thames" suggests the nature of London during
this time, where even the river Thames was owned.
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Percy Bysshe Shelley
● Lived 1792 - 1822
● Born in Horsham in West
Sussex country, England
● Wrote "England in 1819"
in 1819, published in 1839
● Radical political and social
views
○ atheist
○ vegetarian
○ idealist and anarchist: civil
disobedience
● Wed Mary Shelley in 1816
The Peterloo Massacre
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After the Napoleonic Wars, starvation and
economic strife was rampant in England.
In 1819, many adopted political radicalism.
A meeting of around 70,000 individuals was
organized in St. Peter's Field.
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voter reforms: universal suffrage, ballots, etc.
anti-Corn Laws
representation of industrialists and manufacturers in
Parliament
A cavalry charged the crowds, killing 11 and
injuring 400.
Shelley's Ideals in Poetry
● Romanticism emphasizes the individual
○ anarchy --> self-government, solitude
● "The Masque of Anarchy" written in response to
the Peterloo Massacre
○ the poem calls for nonviolent resistance (civil
disobedience, peaceful protests)
● "England in 1819"
○ "A people starv'd and stabb'd in the untilled field" reference to the massacre
○ describes the king as "old, mad, blind, despis'd, and
dying"
"England in 1819"
● Like "London," it is essentially a poetic list of the problems
existing in England in 1819.
● It places the blame on a corrupt and overbearing
government.
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The monarchy/government has become detached from the struggles of
the people beneath it, and England's rulers are like leeches on society.
"Blind in blood" is an extension of the leech metaphor that suggets the
"leeches" (Who neither "see, feel, know") abuse their power until the
people are starved.
"Without a blow" is foreshadowing the next line of the "two edged sword",
because the "blow" in line 6 describes the slow sucking effect the leeches
have on the people, but the massacre, relative to the leech, is a quick blow
rather than a slow death.
Shelley criticizes using the army against the people (such as in the
Peterloo massacre) and describes the suppression of liberty as a "twoedged sword."
The "glorious Phantom" in the final lines likely represents the ideals of
Romanticism, which Shelley hopes will someday enlighten England.
Discussion Questions
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tic
o
x
E
Why do you think Romantic were
The
Emotion
poets interested in politics?
Spirit-In
-Nature
How do nationalistic views come
across in these two poems?
The Irrational
What do you know about the
l
a
r
u
t
a
n
r
Supe
e
h
T
history of the time period that may
Subjectivity
have contributed to these poems?
What differences are there
The Individual
between Blake's and Shelley's
Esca
pism
styles?
Sources
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http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/116