England in 1819 TPCASTT
T: I think the poem will be describing what England was like in 1819 from the poet’s point of view.
P: An old, crazy, blind, disliked and dying king -
Princes, or the remnants of their race, who go
Through public dislike - mud from a muddy spring -
Rulers who don’t see, feel, or know,
But cling to their country like leeches,
Until they drop, blind from blood, without a blow -
A population that has been starved and beaten -
An army, that destroys freedom
Acts as a double-edged sword to all who use it -
Great and positive laws which tempt and kill;
Religion with no God - a book sealed;
A Senate - Time’s worst law not repealed,
Are graves, from which a ghost may
Burst, to light up our stormy day.
C: “An old man, blind” This metaphor is used to describe the state of the king; blind meaning having no connection to his people and truly no help to anyone. “Rulers who see, nor feel, nor know, but leechlike to their fainting country.” This metaphor is used to explain the disconnect between the people in power and the masses and how the suffering of the people only benefits the rulers. This relationship is causing the country as a whole to fall apart. “A people starved and stabbed in the untilled field” This image seems to describe the state of the common people who are neglected to the point where they can’t even provide for themselves and are pushed aside. “Religion Christless, Godless - a book sealed” - This metaphor explains how even in the church the leaders have their hooks sunk in and degrade the values of Christianity and the information has become filtered. The rulers have pushed away God.
A: The author has a bitter and spiteful tone towards those in power. Phrases like “an old man, blind,” “the dregs of their dull race,” “rulers who neither see, nor feel, nor know,” and “leechlike,” enhance the author’s opinion that the rulers are incompetent and only destroy who they are to protect.
S: The bitter tone turns to...