Percy Bysshe Shelley's "England in 1819"

Great poetry is great not because of what it says but because of how it is phrased. Few poems say anything that is very profound; instead, the best of them use language in novel, memorable, and effective ways. Certainly this is true of Percy Bysshe Shelley's famous sonnet "England in 1819." In this poem Shelley describes the depressing, dark, and dirty state of affairs caused in Britain by political, social, and spiritual corruption. However, this poem would not be nearly as effective if it were not for Shelley's powerful use of such classic rhetorical devices as adjectives, alliteration, assonance, imagery, irony, lists, pairings, themes, and verbs.

One device@ that Shelley employs# very potently* is the use of

adjectives. The sonnet is full of vivid descriptive words. Such words

include "old," "mad," "blind," "despised," "dying" (l. 1), "dull" (l. 2), "muddy" (l. 3), "leech-like" (l. 5), "Golden," "sanguine" (l. 10), "Christless," "Godless" (l. 11), "glorious" (l. 13) and "tempestuous" (l. 14). All these adjectives are obviously strong, memorable, and effective.

A second technique@ that Shelley utilizes# quite skillfully* is

alliteration. The poem is filled with the repetition of consonant sounds. For

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“Rulers who neither see, nor feel, nor know” (l.

The recurring theme of blindness is another instrument that Shelley brings to bear in “England in 1819. Several examples such as “mud from a muddy” (l. Evidence of hard times in society is clearly portrayed by this theme.

Finally, Shelley artfully gives attention to the stratagem of using strong verbs in “England in 1819. Phrases like “dregs of their dull race” (l.

Yet another tactic that Shelley uses quite masterfully is assonance.

Irony is another method that Shelley tastefully makes use of in “England in 1819. ”

Even more common to the writers of this time is the theme of “light vs.

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Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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