Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Mask of Anarchy

Mark Sandy (University of Durham)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.06: English Writing and Culture of the Romantic Period, 1789-1837.
Vol. editors: Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Daniel Robinson (Widener University), Emily Rohrbach (University of Durham)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1819

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England (Country of Origin)

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Poetry (any)

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The Mask of Anarchy

, as its subtitle announces, was “Written on the Occasion of the Massacre at Manchester” in St. Peter's Field on 16 August 1819. The event, popularly known as the Peterloo Massacre, occurred when mounted local militia mistakenly charged a crowd of men, women, and children, who were peaceably campaigning for Parliamentary reform, and incited a riot. A number of people lost their lives and a good many more were seriously injured as a result of the violence that ensued. Having taken up residence in Italy by this time, Shelley did not learn of this terrible event until he received copies of the

Examiner

for 22 and 29 of August from Thomas Love Peacock (1785-1866) on 5 September. Shelley's response to the news was almost immediate. He completed

The Mask of Anarchy

before…

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1091 words

Citation: Sandy, Mark. "The Mask of Anarchy". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 September 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=213, accessed 26 November 2024.]

Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Mask of Anarchy

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