post 9 - Genghis Goodman

To the Men of England

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Men of England, wherefore plough

For the lords who lay ye low?

Wherefore weave with toil and care

The rich robes your tyrants wear?

Wherefore feed and clothe and save

From the cradle to the grave

Those ungrateful drones who would

Drain your sweat—nay, drink your blood?

Wherefore, Bees of England, forge

Many a weapon, chain, and scourge,

That these stingless drones may spoil

The forced produce of your toil?

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?

The seed ye sow, another reaps;

The wealth ye find, another keeps;

The robes ye weave, another wears;

The arms ye forge, another bears.

Sow seed—but let no tyrant reap:

Find wealth—let no imposter heap:

Weave robes—let not the idle wear:

Forge arms—in your defence to bear.

Shrink to your cellars, holes, and cells—

In hall ye deck another dwells.

Why shake the chains ye wrought? Ye see

The steel ye tempered glance on ye.

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.

This poem brings light to the unfair situation in England. Basically, the higher powers in England are oppressing the working class. Shelley juxtaposes the harsh condition of the working class with the luxurious lifestyle of their tyrants, this is shown in quotes such as "weave with toil and care the rich robes your tyrant wear?" Shelly criticizes the "drones" however this poem is aimed at telling the working class to rise up as opposed to telling the tyrants to negotiate with their workers. Overall, this poem is very effective, implementing grim imagery of a life full of hard labor that leads to a miserable death.