Shelley's "England in 1819"

The speaker is bitter towards England’s social structure at the time. The speaker’s sex is most likely to be male because of the feelings being expressed through this poem and the time period in which it is written. The speaker’s acknowledgement of the surrounding environment tells the audience, which is general, that the speaker is middle aged. In the poem “England in 1819,” Shelley describes the horrible conditions of the state of England. The king is “old, mad, blind, despised, and dying.” His sons are described as low life leeches that do not see, feel, or know what happens to their country. The people are suffering with hunger and oppression. The army is corrupt and is feared. “A sealed book” describes no religion. But there is hope yet in the end because Shelley starts to use lighter words like glorious and illumine.

The diction is mixed. Shelley uses a lot of descriptive words to show how he feels towards England. He is pointing out the terrible state in which his nation has become. Shelley also uses metaphors such as how the princes are leeches that are sucking their nation dry. The rulers are selfish and do nothing to help the depressed state. The army is described as a two edged blade that has no mercy. Also, religion is not practiced because the books have not been opened. The speaker is passionate about the issue. This is an important topic that he wishes to address to the public in order to make a change.

I had to read the poem a few times. After the first time I needed to look up a few words to further understand the entire concept. I picked up a few things the first time, but the metaphors required some more time to register. I still do not understand the ending, but the language used in the last two lines makes me think that there is hope yet to come.