The Masque of Anarchy
Encyclopedia
The Mask of Anarchy is a political poem written in 1819 (see 1819 in poetry
) by Percy Bysshe Shelley
following the Peterloo Massacre
of that year. In his call for freedom, it is perhaps the first modern statement of the principle of nonviolent resistance
.
The poem was not published during Shelley's lifetime and did not appear in print until 1832 (see 1832 in poetry
), when published by Edward Moxon in London with a preface by Leigh Hunt. Shelley had sent the manuscript in 1819 for publication in The Examiner
. Leigh Hunt withheld it from publication because he "thought that the public at large had not become sufficiently discerning to do justice to the sincerity and kind-heartedness of the spirit that walked in this flaming robe of verse." The epigraph on the cover of the first edition is from The Revolt of Islam
(1818): "Hope is strong; Justice and Truth their winged child have found."
Shelley elaborates on the psychological consequences of violence met with pacifism. The guilty soldiers he says, will return shamefully to society, where "blood thus shed will speak/In hot blushes on their cheek". Women will point out the murderers on the streets, their former friends will shun them, and honorable soldiers will turn away from those responsible for the massacre, "ashamed of such base company". A version was taken up by Henry David Thoreau
in his essay Civil Disobedience
, and later by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in his doctrine of Satyagraha
. Gandhi's passive resistance was influenced and inspired by Shelley's nonviolence in protest and political action. It is known that Gandhi would often quote Shelley's Masque of Anarchy to vast audiences during the campaign for a free India.
The poem mentions several members of Lord Liverpool's government by name: the Foreign Secretary, Castlereagh
who appears as a mask worn by Murder
, the Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth
whose guise is taken by Hypocrisy
, and the Lord Chancellor, Lord Eldon
whose ermine gown is worn by Fraud
. Led by Anarchy
, a skeleton with a crown, they try to take over England
, but are slain by a mysterious armored figure who arises from a mist. The maiden Hope
, revived, then calls to the people of England:
Political authors and campaigners such as Richard Holmes
, Paul Foot
among others describe it as "the greatest political poem ever written in English".
1819 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* The period from September 1818 to September of this year is often referred to among scholars of John Keats as "the Great Year", or "the Living Year", because during this period he was most...
) by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
following the Peterloo Massacre
Peterloo Massacre
The Peterloo Massacre occurred at St Peter's Field, Manchester, England, on 16 August 1819, when cavalry charged into a crowd of 60,000–80,000 that had gathered to demand the reform of parliamentary representation....
of that year. In his call for freedom, it is perhaps the first modern statement of the principle of nonviolent resistance
Nonviolent resistance
Nonviolent resistance is the practice of achieving goals through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, and other methods, without using violence. It is largely synonymous with civil resistance...
.
The poem was not published during Shelley's lifetime and did not appear in print until 1832 (see 1832 in poetry
1832 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* The Weimar Classicism period in Germany is commonly considered to have begun in 1788) and to have ended either in 1805, with the death of Schiller, or this year, with the death of Goethe* Thomas...
), when published by Edward Moxon in London with a preface by Leigh Hunt. Shelley had sent the manuscript in 1819 for publication in The Examiner
Examiner
The Examiner was a weekly paper founded by Leigh and John Hunt in 1808. For the first fifty years it was a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles, but from 1865 it repeatedly changed hands and political allegiance, resulting in a rapid decline in readership and loss of...
. Leigh Hunt withheld it from publication because he "thought that the public at large had not become sufficiently discerning to do justice to the sincerity and kind-heartedness of the spirit that walked in this flaming robe of verse." The epigraph on the cover of the first edition is from The Revolt of Islam
The Revolt of Islam
The Revolt of Islam is a poem in twelve cantos composed by Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1817. The poem was originally published under the title Laon and Cythna; or, The Revolution of the Golden City: A Vision of the Nineteenth Century by Charles and James Ollier in December, 1817...
(1818): "Hope is strong; Justice and Truth their winged child have found."
Synopsis
Written on the occasion of the massacre carried out by the British Government at St Peter's Field, Manchester 1819, Shelley begins his poem with the powerful images of the unjust forms of authority of his time "God, and King, and Law" - and he then imagines the stirrings of a radically new form of social action: "Let a great assembly be, of the fearless, of the free". The crowd at this gathering is met by armed soldiers, but the protestors do not raise an arm against their assailants:- "Stand ye calm and resolute,
- Like a forest close and mute,
- With folded arms and looks which are
- Weapons of unvanquished war.
- And if then the tyrants dare,
- Let them ride among you there,
- Slash, and stab, and maim and hew,
- What they like, that let them do.
- With folded arms and steady eyes,
- And little fear, and less surprise
- Look upon them as they slay
- Till their rage has died away
- Then they will return with shame
- To the place from which they came,
- And the blood thus shed will speak
- In hot blushes on their cheek.
- Rise like Lions after slumber
- In unvanquishable number,
- Shake your chains to earth like dew
- Which in sleep had fallen on you-
- Ye are many — they are few"
Shelley elaborates on the psychological consequences of violence met with pacifism. The guilty soldiers he says, will return shamefully to society, where "blood thus shed will speak/In hot blushes on their cheek". Women will point out the murderers on the streets, their former friends will shun them, and honorable soldiers will turn away from those responsible for the massacre, "ashamed of such base company". A version was taken up by Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
in his essay Civil Disobedience
Civil Disobedience (Thoreau)
Civil Disobedience is an essay by American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau that was first published in 1849...
, and later by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in his doctrine of Satyagraha
Satyagraha
Satyagraha , loosely translated as "insistence on truth satya agraha soul force" or "truth force" is a particular philosophy and practice within the broader overall category generally known as nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. The term "satyagraha" was conceived and developed by Mahatma...
. Gandhi's passive resistance was influenced and inspired by Shelley's nonviolence in protest and political action. It is known that Gandhi would often quote Shelley's Masque of Anarchy to vast audiences during the campaign for a free India.
The poem mentions several members of Lord Liverpool's government by name: the Foreign Secretary, Castlereagh
Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC, PC , usually known as Lord CastlereaghThe name Castlereagh derives from the baronies of Castlereagh and Ards, in which the manors of Newtownards and Comber were located...
who appears as a mask worn by Murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, the Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth
Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth
Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, PC was a British statesman, and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1804....
whose guise is taken by Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie....
, and the Lord Chancellor, Lord Eldon
John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon
John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon PC KC FRS FSA was a British barrister and politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain between 1801 and 1806 and again between 1807 and 1827.- Background and education :...
whose ermine gown is worn by Fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
. Led by Anarchy
Anarchy
Anarchy , has more than one colloquial definition. In the United States, the term "anarchy" typically is meant to refer to a society which lacks publicly recognized government or violently enforced political authority...
, a skeleton with a crown, they try to take over England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, but are slain by a mysterious armored figure who arises from a mist. The maiden Hope
Hope
Hope is the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. It is the "feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best" or the act of "look[ing] forward to with desire and reasonable confidence" or...
, revived, then calls to the people of England:
- "Men of England, heirs of Glory,
- Heroes of unwritten story,
- Nurslings of one mighty Mother,
- Hopes of her, and one another;
- What is Freedom? Ye can tell
- That which Slavery is too well,
- For its very name has grown
- To an echo of your own
- Let a vast assembly be,
- And with great solemnity
- Declare with measured words, that ye
- Are, as God has made ye, free!
- The old laws of England--they
- Whose reverend heads with age are grey,
- Children of a wiser day;
- And whose solemn voice must be
- Thine own echo--Liberty!
- Rise like Lions after slumber
- In unvanquishable number,
- Shake your chains to earth like dew
- Which in sleep had fallen on you-
- Ye are many — they are few"
Political authors and campaigners such as Richard Holmes
Richard Holmes (biographer)
Richard Holmes, OBE, FRSL, FBA is a British author and academic best known for his biographical studies of major figures of British and French Romanticism.-Biography:...
, Paul Foot
Paul Foot
Paul Mackintosh Foot was a British investigative journalist, political campaigner, author, and long-time member of the Socialist Workers Party...
among others describe it as "the greatest political poem ever written in English".
Sources
- Paley, Morton D. "Apocapolitics: Allusion and Structure in Shelley's Mask of Anarchy." Huntington Library Quarterly, 54 (1991): 91-109.
- Scrivener, Michael. Radical Shelley. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1982.
- Hendrix, Richard. "The Necessity of Response: How Shelley's Radical Poetry Works." Keats-Shelley Journal, Vol. 27, (1978), pp. 45-69.
- Thompson, E.P. The Making of the English Working Class. NY: Vintage Books, 1963.
- Franta, Andrew. "Shelley and the Poetics of Political Indirection." Poetics Today, Volume 22, Number 4, Winter 2001, pp. 765-793.
- Edwards, Thomas R. Imagination and Power: A Study of Poetry on Public Themes. NY: Oxford University Press, 1971.
- Frosch, Thomas. "Passive Resistance in Shelley: A Psychological View." Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 98.3 (1999): 373-95.
- Forman, H. Buxton. Shelley, 'Peterloo' and 'The Mask of Anarchy'. London: Richard Clay & Sons, 1887.
- Vargo, Lisa. "Unmasking Shelley's Mask of Anarchy." English Studies in Canada, 13.1 (1987): 49-64.
- Peterfreund, Stuart. "Teaching Shelley's Anatomy of Anarchy." Hall, Spencer (ed.). Approaches to Teaching Shelley's Poetry. New York: MLA, 1990. 90-92.
- Jones, Steven E. "Shelley's Satire of Succession and Brecht's Anatomy of Regression: 'The Mask of Anarchy' and Der anachronistische Zug oder Freiheit und Democracy." Shelley: Poet and Legislator of the World. Eds. Betty T. Bennett and Stuart Curran. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1996. 193-200.
- Jones. Steven E. Shelley's Satire: Violence and Exhortation. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1994.
- Scrivener, Michael Henry. "Reviewed work(s): Shelley's Satire: Violence and Exhortation by Steven E. Jones." Studies in Romanticism, Vol. 35, No. 3, Green Romanticism (Fall, 1996), pp. 471-473.
- Crampton, Daniel Nicholas. "Shelley's Political Optimism: 'The Mask of Anarchy' to Hellas." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1973.
- Keach, William. "Rise Like Lions? Shelley and the Revolutionary Left." International Socialism, 75, July, 1997.
- Kuiken, Kir. "Shelley’s ‘Mask of Anarchy’ and the Problem of Modern Sovereignty." Literature Compass, Volume 8, Issue 2, pages 95–106, February, 2011.
- Stauffer, Andrew M. "Celestial Temper: Shelley and the Masks of Anger." Keats-Shelley Journal. Vol. 49, (2000), pp. 138-161.
- Cross, Ashley J. "What a World we Make the Oppressor and the Oppressed": George Cruikshank, Percy Shelley, and the Gendering of Revolution in 1819." ELH, Volume 71, Number 1, Spring 2004, pp. 167-207.
- Dick, Alex J. "The Ghost of Gold": Forgery Trials and the Standard of Value in Shelley's The Mask of Anarchy." European Romantic Review, Volume 18, Number 3, July 2007 , pp. 381-400.
- Allen, Austin. "Shelley in Egypt: How a British Poem Inspired the Arab Spring." bigthink, July 5, 2011.