Post on 05-Jan-2016
description
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?)
VIEWPOINTSystem 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
TONEMounting 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.
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
STRUCTURE
Stanzas 1 – 4: QUESTIONSWhy 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.
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.
WORKERSDICTION & IMAGERY MASTERSversus
DICTION & IMAGERY
Workers – directly addressed
Men of England
Bees of England
Ye
DICTION & IMAGERY
Masterslords who lay ye lowtyrantsungrateful dronesstingless dronesanother (5)tyrantimposterthe idle
DICTION & IMAGERYsemantic fields
workprofit
relaxationviolence & warfare
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.
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.
PROFIT
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?
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 gravegrave,
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 gravegrave, and build your tombtomb,
And weave your winding-sheetwinding-sheet, till fair
England be your sepulchresepulchre.
DEATHVIOLENCE & WARFARE = death or
work yourself to
Bitter irony in the FINAL WORDS
…till fairEngland be your sepulchresepulchre.
JUST, HONEST, MORAL, HONOURABLEBEAUTIFUL, LIGHT
TOMB
Link to use of « dear » in stanza 4
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 »
DICTION & IMAGERY
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
EFFECTS
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 resentmentBreaks in rhythm and patterns =
Agitation increases Tone increasingly
angry, sarcastic and bitter =RISE UP AND FIGHT or
DIE?
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?