Eighteen Hundred and Eleven: Poetry, Protest and Economic Crisis (Cambridge Studies in Romanticism, Series Number 116)

In 1811 England Was On The Brink Of Economic Collapse And Revolution. The Veteran Poet And Campaigner Anna Letitia Barbauld Published A Prophecy Of The British Nation Reduced To Ruins By Its Refusal To End The Interminable War With France, Titled Eighteen Hundred And Eleven. Combining Ground-breaking Historical Research With Incisive Textual Analysis, This New Study Dispels The Myth Surrounding The Hostile Reception Of The Poem And Takes A Striking Episode In Romantic-era Culture As The Basis For Exploring Poetry As A Medium Of Political Protest. Clery Examines The Issues At Stake, From The Nature Of Patriotism To The Threat To Public Credit, And Throws New Light On The Views And Activities Of A Wide Range Of Writers, Including Radical, Loyalist And Dissenting Journalists, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Southey, And Barbauld Herself. Putting A Woman Writer At The Centre Of The Enquiry Opens Up A Revised Perspective On The Politics Of Romanticism-- Introduction: The Puzzle And The Myth -- Part 1: The Making Of Eighteen Hundred And Eleven -- Economic Warfare -- Writing For The Enemy -- Commercial Dissent -- Stoic Patriotism -- The Prophet Motive -- Ruin: Doing The Policy In Different Voices -- Lady Credit -- Part Ii: What Happened Next -- Publication To Vindication: A Chronology -- The Summer Of 1812 And After. E.j. Clery, University Of Southampton. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 278-297) And Index. "In 1811 England was on the brink of economic collapse and revolution. The veteran poet and campaigner Anna Letitia Barbauld published a prophecy of the British nation reduced to ruins by its refusal to end the interminable war with France, titled Eighteen Hundred and Eleven. Combining ground-breaking historical research with incisive textual analysis, this new study dispels the myth surrounding the hostile reception of the poem and takes a striking episode in Romantic-era culture as the basis for exploring poetry as a medium of political protest. Clery examines the issues at stake, from the nature of patriotism to the threat to public credit, and throws new light on the views and activities of a wide range of writers, including radical, loyalist and dissenting journalists, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Southey, and Barbauld herself. Putting a woman writer at the centre of the enquiry opens up a revised perspective on the politics of Romanticism"-- Provided by publisher