Sarabeth Hogshire
“England in 1819”
By Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem “England in 1819” is a commentary on the condition of the country at the time. Shelley makes it very clear that England is in shambles. The monarchy has become irresponsible and frivolous, the common people are suffering, the army is taking advantage of people, and religion is gone. Shelley expresses this view through his alteration of the poem’s form, as well as his division of the poem into several parts.
“England in 1819” does not follow the rhyme scheme of any typical form of the sonnet. Shelley’s poem has a unique rhyme scheme of abababcdcdccdd, while a typical petrarchan sonnet is abbaabbacdecde. I think that Shelley intentionally alters the form of the poem to reflect the chaos and disorder that is occurring in England at this time. This poem is just one example of how Shelley’s writing reflects his political views. It expresses how disillusioned he was with everything that was going on in England, and his alteration of the structure of the sonnet reinforces this view.
The rhyme scheme not only serves to reflect the condition of England, but it also breaks up the poem into several contextual parts. The first six lines (ababab) all discuss the rulers of the country and how they are irresponsible and are basically sucking the country dry. The next four lines (cdcdcc) tell about how people are dying, and an army that is supposed to be protecting them is taking advantage of its power, and how laws are being twisted to benefit those in the upper class. The last two lines express Shelley’s hope that one day all of these elements of the country that have gone into hibernation in a sense, will one day rise again to bring the country out of its current downward spiral.
These formal divisions of the poem also help reinforce the emotional curve of the poem. In the first twelve lines of the poem the tone is hopeless and sad. Shelley uses words like “dull,” “leech-like,” “dying,” and “starved.” All of these words indicate feelings of bleakness and despair. In the last two lines of the poem, Shelley changes his tone to one of hope. He uses phrases like “glorious Phantom,” and “illuminate,” which indicate a change in his tone from desolation to hope.
Shelley’s poem “England 1819” is a social commentary on the state of England. Shelley uses formal elements like the rhyme scheme and the emotional curve to reinforce his belief that England is in a slump, to say the least. Towards the end of his poem however, he does express faith in a “glorious Phantom” that will bring England out of its depression. This “glorious Phantom” is the spirit of revolution.