SONG TO THE MEN OF ENGLAND
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY
The Poem
This poem shows the message that Shelley
wants to put across. He wants the 'bees of
England' (the workers) to become
independent and not live under the
suppressed regime of the 'tyrants'. He
wants them to understand that they don't
need to serve for anyone and need not to
be treated like slaves. Throughout the
poem, Shelley states what is happening,
and also what the workers should do to
have the rights of freedom.
About the Author
Percy Bysshe Shelley was born in August 1792 and died in
July 1822. He was one of the major English romantic poets.
Like
the young
poets, hewas
died
at a young
Thismany
poem,ofSong
to theromantic
Men of England,
written
in
age
(29).
1819,
three years prior to his death.
He became an idol of the next two or three or even four
generations
Throughout of
hispoets.
life, he wanted to fight Tyranny and
slavery.
mainHarriet
goal was
to lead men
“aalife
of
In 1811,
he His
married
Westbrook
and to
had
child.
freedom, he
love,
andabandoned
apprehension
of the beautiful.
However,
later
his pregnant
wife and child
and ran away with a woman named Mary. Later, his wife
This poem
was written
theShelley
working
class people
of
Harriet
drowned
herself,for
and
married
Mary, partly
England,
duringtothe
Revolution.
to
hold custody
hisFrench
child, but
failed. It was written
the same
purposestorm,
as many
at that
He with
drowned
in a sudden
and other
neverromantics
lived to see
the
time: to
the working
of Great
Britain to rebel
extent
ofurge
his success
and class
influence
in generations
to come.
. . .
The Title
Song to the Men of
England
The title of the poem refers to the poor working class of
England.
The title is direct, and the men are addressed personally by the
word “to”.
The poem is like a song, the structure is songlike, and the
word song can also relate to a protest, like how the bird
sings in protest in “Caged Bird”, or a march against the
lords who treat them badly.
Therefore, the title reveals that the poem is dedicated to the
workers of England. It is a form of a protest in the format of
a song
A
N
T
O
T
N
N
A
IO
Stanza 1
Men of England, wherefore plough
For the lords who lay ye low?
Wherefore weave with toil and care
The rich robes your tyrants wear?
Three
of
alliteration
is evident
used
this
stanza:
"Men
ofexamples
England
wherefore
plough/For
the
lord
whoand
In
The
addition,
use
of
the
rhetorical
word
“tyrant”
questions
is also
is
usedinfrequently
in
this
stanza,
throughout
lay ye
low?“
This
divides
the two
classes,
the
“lords
who
laysuggests
ye
low”,
“Wherefore
weave”
and
“rich
the
also
poem.
in
stanzas
This
to
come.
that
The
the
repeated
people
word
who
“wherefore”
have
authority
workers
and
the
ones
who
exploit
them,
referred
as
robes”.
and
(meaning
are more
why),
well
is
respected
always
oppressive
by words
and
withthe
have
negative
power
“tyrants”.
In
this
way, followed
theare
author
criticizes
connotations,
in the
this fact
case,that
“lay”
and “low”
system and
those
who work the land
The
of alliteration
the poet
usingbut
a
areuse
mistreated.
He suggests
sympathizes
withisthem
mocking
tone,
as to
whywhy
the workers
have
not
wants
to
know
the
reason
they let
themselves
The
excessive
use
of know
rhetorical
questions
therefore
already
rebelled
against and
the lords
to be exploited.
emphasizes
the suffering
tiresome work the “men of
England” is put through frequently.
Stanza 2
Wherefore feed and clothe and save,
From the cradle to the grave,
Those ungrateful drones who would
Drain your sweat -nay, drink your
blood?
of hierarchy
is noted
in the
third
lineinofthe
thisfirst
InThe
this idea
stanza,
the poet uses
“and”
three
times
stanza,
the word
A working
drone
is for
someone
who
“Drain
your
sweat
– nay,
drink
your
blood”
is
atheir
metaphor
stanza
to with
emphasize
the“drone”
workers
masters.
doestono
work, and
off others.
In addition,
another
used
describe
the lives
intensity
the workers
are forced
to
definition
of drone
is“drain”
agrave”
highly
ranked
bee
does
work.
The
two
verbs
and
“sweat”
arethat
used
to not
“From
the cradle
to the
is
a metaphor.
“Cradle”
work and
honey.and
Therefore
poet
uses
describe
theproduces
workers
sweating
bleeding
as
they
worked.
symbolises
the
lord atno
a young
age,
wherethe
“grave”
symbolises
beesage.
as aTherefore,
metaphor ittoisdescribe
the the
people
of England.
older
saying that
workers
work for the
The worker
bees are
thelife
workers of England, and the
masters
throughout
their
lords are drones.
Stanza 3
Wherefore, Bees of England, forge
Many a weapon, chain, and scourge,
That these stingless drones may spoil
The forced produce of your toil?
The
idea of hierarchy
is mentioned
also
stanza
three.
In addition,
the word “stingless”
adds
to in
the
laziness
of the
The
words
“forced”
and “toil”
carry
Here,
“men”
isalso
replaced
bythat
“bees”,
whichare
describes
the
lords.
Stingless
implies
the negative
lords
powerless
connotations,
is the
used
to describe
the
cruelty
of
theand
hard work
putand
in
workers
of England,
as aweak
bee
without
workers,
asby
they
have
no “sting”,
they
are
lords
the workers.
These words makes the workers
worksto
hard.
cannot
defend
themselves.
seem
as“many”
though
they
areto
to the
work
continuously,
Once
more,
drone isis
used
inpushed
this stanza,
which
is of
used
to
The
word
used
describe
amount
goods
with
greatthe
difficulty.
This
therefore
creates
anhours
imageand
ofare
describe
different
ranks
in England.
The
“drones”
the
workers
produce.
It also
signifies
the long
the
injustice
the put
lords
who
work, where the bees are the
effort
into
thedon’t
produce.
workers.
Stanza 4
Have ye leisure, comfort, calm,
Shelter, food, love's gentle balm?
Or what is it ye buy so dear
With your pain and with your fear?
Unlike
theisprevious
stanza
whatwith
the your
“Or
what
it ye buystanzas,
so dearthis
With
yourstates
pain and
workers should have. The idea of social injustice is
fear”shown
is ironic,
asstanza,
work usually
brings rewards,
in this
as the workers
don’t havebut in this
case“leisure,
work brings
agony
and
comfort,
calm”,
butpain.
instead have to work for
theand
lords.
“Pain”
“fear” suggests harsh work the men of England
The words
such as
“leisure,
have work
positive
does.
Therefore,
this
stanzacomfort,
meanscalm”
that hard
should
and a ‘soft’ words, which creates a gentle
reapconnotations,
great rewards.
atmosphere.
Stanza 5
The seed ye sow, another reaps;
The wealth ye find, another keeps;
The robes ye weave, another wears;
The arms ye forge, another bears.
Thisstructure
stanza summarises
the
stanzas,
The
of the stanza
is previous
regular. The
lines by
aresaying
made
what
is six
happening
when
action
is taken
to rebel
even,
with
words per
line,no
and
all the
lines have
the same
others.you make are for the lords. The similar
ideaagainst
– the things
Sowing and
weaving
was
mentioned
in stanza
1, where taken
the
structure
makes
it seem
like
the workers
are continually
poet asks
workers
plough
thethings
land and
robes
advantage
of why
by the
lords, as
all the
they weave
make are
kept
for the
lords, wealth was mentioned in stanza 4, where
by the
lords
the comforts and luxuries which the workers should have
are noted, and forging weapons is mentioned in the third.
Stanza 6
Sow seed, -but let no tyrant reap;
Find wealth, -let no imposter heap;
Weave robes, -let not the idle wear;
Forge arms, in your defence to bear.
The
Thisuse
stanza
of imperatives
uses the same
are present
ideas from
in this
stanza
stanza,
five,which
and
suggests
has a aggressiveness
similar structure.from
Unlike
thethe
poet.
previous stanza,
A more
whichharsh
demonstrates
tone is established
what is happening
in this stanza,
currently,
and this
tonestanza
becomes
represents
increasingly
what harsh
the poet
as thinks
the poem
should
continues
happen
The
word
“another”
used of
to farming,
describeweaving
the lordsand
are forging
replaced
Once
again,
the actions
withare
harsher
words,
as “tyrant”
present,
like such
in stanza
five. and “imposter”. The use
of these words implies the lords’ cruelty.
Stanza 7
Shrink to your cellars, holes, and cells;
In halls ye deck another dwells.
Why shake the chains ye wrought? Ye see
The steel ye tempered glance on ye.
“cellars,
andgives
cells”the
creates
a dismal
atmosphere.
The
wordholes,
“shrink”
workers
a diminishing
value,It
The
rhetorical
question
“Why
shake
theand
chains
yeeven
makes
the workers
seem
poor
and unhappy,
and
and
makes
them,
seem
unimportant
inferior
to the
wrought?”
to
first
fewcell
stanzas,
where
criminal
arelates
way, with
the
word
referring
tosymbolise
a rhetorical
jail. These
lords. in
However,
thethe
word
shrink
could
also
a
questions
common.
three
words
creates
sympathy
thethe
workers,
as it creates
strike
theare
workers
are taking,toas
lords support
to
an survive
image as
a bad place
to dwell.
diminishes
as the
workers refuse to work.
“The steel ye tempered glance on ye” is an example of the
lords’ cruelty
the in
workers.
It is also
example
of the
“shrink”,
whento
used
conjunction
withan
“cellars,
holes,
and
lords also
taking
advantage
thethe
workers
– how
the workers
cells”
makes
it seemoflike
workers
are scheming
a
make
thingsthe
andlords.
the lords use them against the workers.
plan
against
Stanza 8
With plough and spade and hoe and loom,
Trace your grave, and build your tomb,
And weave your winding-sheet, till fair
England be your sepulchre!
The
two
lines of in
thethe
stanza
is a is
metaphor,
which
describes
Thefirst
last
stanza
poem
one with
a mocking
what
will happen
if thebuilds
workershis
continue
workingup
theto
way
they
tone.
The poet
frustration
this
are.
point, and here, his frustration is released, and
states
what
the workers
willtools
be which
once
Thehe
tools
“plough”,
“spade”,
“hoe” andfutures
“loom” are
workers
usecontinue
while working,
and the
word
“build”
if they
working
the
way
theysuggests
are. that
they are working to “build” their own death. The next line, “and
weave your winding-sheet, till fair” continues this interpretation,
showing that they are creating their own death
Themes
Social
Exploitation
Injustice
Poverty
The Throughout
workers livethe
in poverty,
and the
lords
liveexploiting
in luxury.
poem, signs
of the
lords
Thethe
workers
theevident
lords
are not
thehaving
same,more
with the
Poverty
in theand
poem
also
relates
to treated
the lords
workers
are
workersthan
being
worse.
Discrimination
and Social
control
thetreated
workers,
therefore,
the rich getting
richer, and
injustice
is an keep
evident
in the poem.
the
poor
getting
poorer.
The lords
all theme
of the goods
produced by the
workers, and the workers get little return for them,
Unlike
lords,
shown
tostanza
be
denied
luxuries
Poverty
is
shown
in
stanzaare
7,shown
whereinthe
workers
in
andthe
are
oftenworkers
punished,
7 live
such“The
as holes
“leisure,
calm”,
are
things
“cellars,
cells”, and
the and
lords
live in
“the
hallsthe
ye
steel and
ye comfort,
tempered
glance
onthese
ye”
workers need to rebel for.
deck”
Tone, Form and Structure
The poem is build up of eight stanzas, each
with four lines, which gives the poem
rhythm
There is rhyme (mostly AABB), and there is a
constant rhythm pattern throughout the
poem (iambic tetrameter)
The Poem starts with rhetorical questions, but
slowly moves to imperatives describing
what the workers should do. The tone of
the stanzas increasingly becomes harsher
as the poem continues.