The State Of England In 1819 By Percy Bysshe Shelley

The English Romantic poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley, composed a political poem by the name of “England in 1819”. According to Percy, the sonnet provides a journalist kind of report on the state of England in 1819. The poem passionately attacks England’s oppressive ruling class, as the poet himself sees it. Shelley accuses the monarchy of tyranny with no true human compassion. A monarchy he condemns to include the army, the law, religion and senate (Percy). Described are the madness and blindness of the King and the mutilated genetic line that includes the Prince. Holding true to his form, the poet ends his poem in optimism; optimistically yearning for a revolution and that people will rise up against the ruling class. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem,

He clearly expressed his views with a goal to make people see the rulers in a brand new way. By trying to make the people see differently, Shelley was using the romantic theme of glorification of the ordinary. Shelley fiercely used metaphors throughout the poem displaying how he politically felt about England in 1819. “He compared nobles as leeches in muddy water, the army as a two-edged sword, religion as a sealed book, Parliament as an unjust law” (Shelley’s Poetry). To make the audience realize how dreadful the British monarchy was, Shelley had to get their attention by angering them. He bitterly listed the flaws of the King and his monarchy by making the audience realize how the rulers were so uncaring and impassionate. For instance, “Rulers who neither see nor feel nor know, / But leechlike to their fainting country cling” (“England in 1819” lines 4-5) (Waldron). In hopes of opening England’s eyes to the reality of its problems, Shelley attacked the social and political institutions. For example, “Princes, the dregs of their dull race” (“England in 1819” line 2) and proclaimed “Religion Christless, Godless” (“England in 1819” line

The rhyme scheme he chose turned a traditional Petrarchan form upside-down (Shelley’s Poetry). The sonnets’ structure is out of joint, just as the sonnet portrays England’s improper and unstructured management. To make the audience feel the speaker’s fury, Shelley made the entire poem one sentence; although multiple issues were addressed, punctuation is only used once. By disregarding traditional literary rules and showing defiance to literary limitations, Shelley was using the romantic theme of individualism and