SONG TO THE MEN OF ENGLAND SONG rhyming couplets, regular rhythm, repetition, alliteration = HYMN, ANTHEM or PROTEST SONG, CALL TO ARMS TO addressed to a specific group THE MEN OF ENGLAND = the labourers who make ENGLAND, ( are masters not men?)

VIEWPOINT System is unjust and England is tainted by the injustice Workers are dehumanised as masters suck their lifeblood Workers should rebel and work only for themselves TONE Mounting anger as poem progresses Bitterness, Rage, Contempt, Frustration

I Men of England, wherefore plough For the lords who lay ye low? Wherefore weave with toil and care The rich robes your tyrants wear? II Wherefore feed, and clothe, and save, From the cradle to the grave, Those ungrateful drones who would Drain your sweat – nay, drink your blood? III Wherefore, Bees of England, forge Many a weapon, chain, and scourge, That these stingless drones may spoil The forced produce of your toil? IV Have ye leisure, comfort, calm, Shelter, food, love’s gentle balm? Or what is it ye buy so dear With your pain and with your fear? V The seed ye sow, another reaps; The wealth ye find, another keeps; The robes ye weave, another wears; The arms ye forge, another bears. VI Sow seed, – but let no tyrant reap; Find wealth, – let no impostor heap; Weave robes, – let not the idle wear; Forge arms, – in your defence to bear. VII Shrink to your cellars, holes, and cells; In halls ye deck another dwells. Why shake the chains ye wrought? Ye see The steel ye tempered glance on ye. VIII With plough and spade, and hoe and loom, Trace your grave, and build your tomb, And weave your winding-sheet, till fair England be your sepulchre.

STRUCTURE I Men of England, wherefore plough For the lords who lay ye low? Wherefore weave with toil and care The rich robes your tyrants wear? II Wherefore feed, and clothe, and save, From the cradle to the grave, Those ungrateful drones who would Drain your sweat – nay, drink your blood? III Wherefore, Bees of England, forge Many a weapon, chain, and scourge, That these stingless drones may spoil The forced produce of your toil? IV Have ye leisure, comfort, calm, Shelter, food, love’s gentle balm? Or what is it ye buy so dear With your pain and with your fear? V The seed ye sow, another reaps; The wealth ye find, another keeps; The robes ye weave, another wears; The arms ye forge, another bears. VI Sow seed, – but let no tyrant reap; Find wealth, – let no impostor heap; Weave robes, – let not the idle wear; Forge arms, – in your defence to bear. VII Shrink to your cellars, holes, and cells; In halls ye deck another dwells. Why shake the chains ye wrought? Ye see The steel ye tempered glance on ye. VIII With plough and spade, and hoe and loom, Trace your grave, and build your tomb, And weave your winding-sheet, till fair England be your sepulchre.

STRUCTURE Stanzas 1 – 4: QUESTIONS Why work for tyrants who exploit you? Stanza 5: STATEMENTS The work you do & things you make benefit only others Stanzas 6 – 8: IMPERATIVES (ORDERS) Work, but for yourselves. …… Fight back or shrivel & make your own graves.

DICTION & IMAGERY WORKERS MASTERS versus I Men of England, wherefore plough For the lords who lay ye low? Wherefore weave with toil and care The rich robes your tyrants wear? II Wherefore feed, and clothe, and save, From the cradle to the grave, Those ungrateful drones who would Drain your sweat – nay, drink your blood? III Wherefore, Bees of England, forge Many a weapon, chain, and scourge, That these stingless drones may spoil The forced produce of your toil? IV Have ye leisure, comfort, calm, Shelter, food, love’s gentle balm? Or what is it ye buy so dear With your pain and with your fear? V The seed ye sow, another reaps; The wealth ye find, another keeps; The robes ye weave, another wears; The arms ye forge, another bears. VI Sow seed, – but let no tyrant reap; Find wealth, – let no impostor heap; Weave robes, – let not the idle wear; Forge arms, – in your defence to bear. VII Shrink to your cellars, holes, and cells; In halls ye deck another dwells. Why shake the chains ye wrought? Ye see The steel ye tempered glance on ye. VIII With plough and spade, and hoe and loom, Trace your grave, and build your tomb, And weave your winding-sheet, till fair England be your sepulchre.

Men of England Bees of England Ye Workers – directly addressed DICTION & IMAGERY Workers – directly addressed Men of England Bees of England Ye

Masters lords who lay ye low tyrants ungrateful drones DICTION & IMAGERY Masters lords who lay ye low tyrants ungrateful drones stingless drones another (5) tyrant imposter the idle

DICTION & IMAGERY semantic fields work profit relaxation violence & warfare death

WORK I Men of England, wherefore plough For the lords who lay ye low? Wherefore weave with toil and care The rich robes your tyrants wear? II Wherefore feed, and clothe, and save, From the cradle to the grave, Those ungrateful drones who would Drain your sweat – nay, drink your blood? III Wherefore, Bees of England, forge Many a weapon, chain, and scourge, That these stingless drones may spoil The forced produce of your toil? IV Have ye leisure, comfort, calm, Shelter, food, love’s gentle balm? Or what is it ye buy so dear With your pain and with your fear? V The seed ye sow, another reaps; The wealth ye find, another keeps; The robes ye weave, another wears; The arms ye forge, another bears. VI Sow seed, – but let no tyrant reap; Find wealth, – let no impostor heap; Weave robes, – let not the idle wear; Forge arms, – in your defence to bear. VII Shrink to your cellars, holes, and cells; In halls ye deck another dwells. Why shake the chains ye wrought? Ye see The steel ye tempered glance on ye. VIII With plough and spade, and hoe and loom, Trace your grave, and build your tomb, And weave your winding-sheet, till fair England be your sepulchre. Stanza 4 is the only stanza without reference to work – references here are to leisure. Why? To what effect?

PROFIT I Men of England, wherefore plough For the lords who lay ye low? Wherefore weave with toil and care The rich robes your tyrants wear? II Wherefore feed, and clothe, and save, From the cradle to the grave, Those ungrateful drones who would Drain your sweat – nay, drink your blood? III Wherefore, Bees of England, forge Many a weapon, chain, and scourge, That these stingless drones may spoil The forced produce of your toil? IV Have ye leisure, comfort, calm, Shelter, food, love’s gentle balm? Or what is it ye buy so dear With your pain and with your fear? V The seed ye sow, another reaps; The wealth ye find, another keeps; The robes ye weave, another wears; The arms ye forge, another bears. VI Sow seed, – but let no tyrant reap; Find wealth, – let no impostor heap; Weave robes, – let not the idle wear; Forge arms, – in your defence to bear. VII Shrink to your cellars, holes, and cells; In halls ye deck another dwells. Why shake the chains ye wrought? Ye see The steel ye tempered glance on ye. VIII With plough and spade, and hoe and loom, Trace your grave, and build your tomb, And weave your winding-sheet, till fair England be your sepulchre.

relaxation IV Have ye leisure, comfort, calm, Shelter, food, love’s gentle balm? Or what is it ye buy so dear With your pain and with your fear?

= death or VIOLENCE & WARFARE work yourself to DEATH I Men of England, wherefore plough For the lords who lay ye low? Wherefore weave with toil and care The rich robes your tyrants wear? II Wherefore feed, and clothe, and save, From the cradle to the grave, Those ungrateful drones who would Drain your sweat – nay, drink your blood? III Wherefore, Bees of England, forge Many a weapon, chain, and scourge, That these stingless drones may spoil The forced produce of your toil? IV Have ye leisure, comfort, calm, Shelter, food, love’s gentle balm? Or what is it ye buy so dear With your pain and with your fear? V The seed ye sow, another reaps; The wealth ye find, another keeps; The robes ye weave, another wears; The arms ye forge, another bears. VI Sow seed, – but let no tyrant reap; Find wealth, – let no impostor heap; Weave robes, – let not the idle wear; Forge arms, – in your defence to bear. VII Shrink to your cellars, holes, and cells; In halls ye deck another dwells. Why shake the chains ye wrought? Ye see The steel ye tempered glance on ye. VIII With plough and spade, and hoe and loom, Trace your grave, and build your tomb, And weave your winding-sheet, till fair England be your sepulchre.

Bitter irony in the FINAL WORDS …till fair England be your sepulchre. DICTION & IMAGERY BEAUTIFUL, LIGHT JUST, HONEST, MORAL, HONOURABLE TOMB Link to use of « dear » in stanza 4

« Bees of England », « ungrateful drones », « stingless drones » DICTION & IMAGERY METAPHORS « Drain your sweat » (literal?) « nay, drink your blood » (metaphorical) « Bees of England », « ungrateful drones », « stingless drones » « buy…with your pain and with your fear »

« Trace your grave and build your tomb, DICTION & IMAGERY « why shake the chains ye wrought? (metaphorical?)… Ye see the steel ye tempered glance on thee» (literal?) « Trace your grave and build your tomb, And weave your winding sheet, till fair England be your sepulchre » (literal or metaphorical?)

GRAMMAR: Verbs present tense Imperatives & shift in tone: Sow, find, weave, forge (stanza 5)... shrink to your cellars, trace your grave, build your tomb, weave your winding sheet (stanzas 6 & 7)

GRAMMAR: conjunctions « and » « Feed and clothe and save » (stanza 2) « With plough and spade and hoe and loom » (stanza 8) Compare to listing: « ……..leisure, comfort, calm, Shelter, food, love’s gentle balm” (stanza 4)

SOUNDS Rhyming Couplets Meter/rhythm: 7 or 8 syllables per line, changing pattern of stress (stressed/unstressed pattern changes) Alliteration and Assonance Repetition Harsh short sounds Long vowel sounds Enjambment End stopped lines Caesura SONG: Hymn praising workersof England? Anthem of class struggle? EMOTIONS: Regular rhythms and patterns = Rousing & Persuasive = workers joined together against common enemy Stirring up anger and resentment Breaks in rhythm and patterns = Agitation increases Tone increasingly angry, sarcastic and bitter = RISE UP AND FIGHT or DIE? EFFECTS

PERSONAL RESPONSE Does Shelley’s message still apply? Does the poem make you think or feel differently towards issues such as the exploitation of workers and inequality in society? How do you think workers in 1819 would have responded to Shelley’s rallying cry?