The Mask of Anarchy
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''The Masque of Anarchy'' (or ''The Mask of Anarchy'') is a British political poem written in 1819 (see
1819 in poetry Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France). Events * The period from September 1818 to September of this year is often referred to among scholars of John Keats as "th ...
) by
Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...
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 Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, cons ...
. The poem was not published during Shelley's lifetime and did not appear in print until 1832 (see
1832 in poetry Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France). Events * The Weimar Classicism period in Germany is commonly considered to have begun in 1788) and to have ended either in 1 ...
), 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''. 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 Shelley's '' The Revolt of Islam'' (1818): "Hope is strong; Justice and Truth their winged child have found." Use of ''masque'' and ''mask'' is discussed by Morton Paley; Shelley used ''mask'' in the manuscript but the first edition uses ''masque'' in the title. The poem has 372 lines, largely in four-line
quatrain A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India, Ancient Greec ...
s; two more quatrains appear in some manuscript versions.


Synopsis

Shelley begins his poem, written on the occasion of the Peterloo Massacre, Manchester 1819, with the powerful images of the unjust forms of authority of his time, "God, and King, and Law" – and 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 protesters do not raise an arm against their assailants: 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 honourable 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 (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural su ...
in his essay ''
Civil Disobedience Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". Hen ...
'', and later by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in his doctrine of ''
Satyagraha Satyagraha ( sa, सत्याग्रह; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone w ...
''. Gandhi's passive resistance was influenced and inspired by Shelley's
nonviolence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
in protest and political action. It is known that Gandhi would often quote Shelley's ''The 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 Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another or the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform. In moral psychology, it is the ...
, 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 armoured figure who arises from a mist. The maiden
Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...
, revived, then calls to the people of England:


Literary criticism

Political authors and campaigners such as Richard Holmes and Paul Foot, among others, describe it as "the greatest political poem ever written in English". In his book ''An Encyclopedia of Pacifism'', Aldous Huxley noted the poem's exhortation to the English to resist assault without fighting back, stating "The Method of resistance inculcated by Shelley in ''The Mask of Anarchy'' is the method of non-violence". Author, educator, and activist Howard Zinn refers to the poem in ''
A People's History of the United States '' A People's History of the United States'' is a 1980 nonfiction book by American historian and political scientist Howard Zinn. In the book, Zinn presented what he considered to be a different side of history from the more traditional "funda ...
''. In a subsequent interview, he underscored the power of the poem, suggesting: "What a remarkable affirmation of the power of people who seem to have no power. Ye are many, they are few. It has always seemed to me that poetry, music, literature, contribute very special power." In particular, Zinn uses "The Mask of Anarchy" as an example of literature that members of the American labour movement would read to other workers to inform and educate them.


Use in politics

The rallying language of the poem had led to elements of it being used by political movements. It was recited by students at the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and by protesters in
Tahrir Square Tahrir Square ( ar, ميدان التحرير ', , English language, English: Liberation Square), also known as "Martyr Square", is a major public town square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. The square has been the location and focus for political dem ...
during the
Egyptian revolution of 2011 The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January revolution ( ar, ثورة ٢٥ يناير; ), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police ho ...
. The phrase "like lions after slumber, in unvanquishable number" from the poem was used as a motto/slogan by the International Socialist Organization in their organ. The line "Ye are many-they are few" inspired the campaign slogan "We are many, they are few" used by protesters during the Poll tax riots of 1989–90 in the United Kingdom, and also inspired the title of the 2014 documentary film '' We Are Many'', which focused on the global
15 February 2003 anti-war protests On 15 February 2003, a coordinated day of protests was held across the world in which people in more than 600 cities expressed opposition to the imminent Iraq War. It was part of a series of protests and political events that had begun in 2002 a ...
. Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the
British Labour Party The Labour Party is a List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of Social democracy, social democrats, Democratic socialism, democratic socialists and trade u ...
, quoted the final stanza from the poem at his rally in
Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
, on the final day of campaigning for the
2017 general election This national electoral calendar for 2017 lists the national/federal elections held in 2017 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 November  ...
. Corbyn subsequently quoted the final stanza again during his speech at the
Pyramid stage Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
at the 2017
Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
. Academic and writer
John Sutherland John Sutherland may refer to: Politicians * John Sutherland (New South Wales politician) (1816–1889), member of the NSW Legislative Assembly and Council * John Sutherland (Canadian senator) (1821–1899), Canadian Senator from Manitoba * John S ...
has suggested that the title of the party's 2017 manifesto, "For the Many, Not the few", was derived from the poem. The phrase 'a community in which power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few' also appears in the revised version of Clause IV of the Labour Party Constitution. The same variation, "For The Many, Not The Few", was the sub-title to Robert Reich's 2016 book, ''
Saving Capitalism ''Saving Capitalism'' is a 2017 documentary film directed by Jacob Kornbluth and Sari Gilman, following former Secretary of Labor and Professor Robert Reich, speaking about the current state of the American economic system, and presents ideas how ...
''. The poem was also quoted on the back cover of The Jam's 1980 album ''
Sound Affects ''Sound Affects'' is the fifth studio album by English rock music, rock band the Jam. The album was released on 28 November 1980 by Polydor Records. It is the only Jam album to be co-produced by the band themselves, and contains the only album ...
''.


References


Further reading

* *Crampton, Daniel Nicholas. "Shelley's Political Optimism: 'The Mask of Anarchy' to ''Hellas''." PhD dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1973. *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 ''ELH'' (''English Literary History'') is an academic journal established in 1934 at Johns Hopkins University, devoted to the study of major works in the English language, particularly British literature. It covers developments in literature thr ...
'', 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 ''European Romantic Review'' (''ERR'') is a scholarly peer-review journal founded in 1990 and devoted to the interdisciplinary study of nineteenth-century culture. The journal was co-founded by the poet and literary critic Kelly Grovier. Publi ...
'', Volume 18, Number 3, July 2007, pp. 381–400. *Edwards, Thomas R. ''Imagination and Power: A Study of Poetry on Public Themes''. NY: Oxford University Press, 1971. *Forman, H. Buxton. ''Shelley, 'Peterloo' and 'The Mask of Anarchy'.'' London: Richard Clay & Sons, 1887. *Franta, Andrew. "Shelley and the Poetics of Political Indirection." '' Poetics Today'', Volume 22, Number 4, Winter 2001, pp. 765–793. *Frosch, Thomas. "Passive Resistance in Shelley: A Psychological View." '' Journal of English and Germanic Philology'', 98.3 (1999): 373–95. *Hendrix, Richard. "The Necessity of Response: How Shelley's Radical Poetry Works." ''Keats-Shelley Journal'', Vol. 27, (1978), pp. 45–69. *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. *Keach, William. "Rise Like Lions? Shelley and the Revolutionary Left." ''
International Socialism Proletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is the perception of all communist revolutions as being part of a single global class struggle rather than separate localized events. It is based on the theory that ...
'', 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. *Paley, Morton D. "Apocapolitics: Allusion and Structure in Shelley's Mask of Anarchy." '' Huntington Library Quarterly'', 54 (1991): 91–109. *Peterfreund, Stuart. "Teaching Shelley's Anatomy of Anarchy." Hall, Spencer (ed.). ''Approaches to Teaching Shelley's Poetry''. New York: MLA, 1990. 90–92. *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. *Scrivener, Michael. ''Radical Shelley''. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1982. *Stauffer, Andrew M. "Celestial Temper: Shelley and the Masks of Anger." ''Keats-Shelley Journal''. Vol. 49, (2000), pp. 138–161. *
Thompson, E. P. Edward Palmer Thompson (3 February 1924 – 28 August 1993) was an English historian, writer, socialist and peace campaigner. He is best known today for his historical work on the radical movements in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, in ...
'' The Making of the English Working Class''. NY: Vintage Books, 1963. *Vargo, Lisa. "Unmasking Shelley's Mask of Anarchy." ''English Studies in Canada'', 13.1 (1987): 49–64.


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Masque of Anarchy, The Civil disobedience Pacifism in the United Kingdom Nonviolence Poetry by Percy Bysshe Shelley 1819 poems Political history of England