The Masque of Anarchy

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1832

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Poem Analysis

Themes

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Literary Devices

Further Reading & Resources

Related Poems

“England in 1819” by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1839)

This political sonnet was also a response to the Peterloo Massacre. Unlike The Masque of Anarchy, this poem attacks the ruling class and King George III. This poem also expresses his ultimately optimistic outlook. This poem closes with one of Shelley’s most famous lines where he hopes that a “glorious Phantom” will spring forth from the decay to “illumine our tempestuous day.”

excerpt from Queen Mab by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1813)

The first of Shelley’s longer poetic works, this poem is written as if it were a fairy tale set in an earthly utopia. In the work, Shelley explains his key philosophical and political points that include atheism, vegetarianism, and free love. His hopeful optimism is reflected in the poem’s central argument that humanity can reform and improve itself.

“Poetical Essay on the Existing State of Things” by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1811)

This anti-war and anti-imperialist work was written to raise money for an imprisoned Anglo-Irish journalist who was jailed for libeling politician Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, a man referenced by Shelley in The Masque of Anarchy. This poem criticizes the British Government, the lack of freedom of the press, corruption, the Napoleonic War, and poverty in Britain.

“Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1818)

One of Shelley’s most well-known poems, this sonnet explores the fate of history and the effects of time. The poem focuses on the decline of empires and leaders.

Further Literary Resources

“Celestial Temper: Shelley and the Masks of Anger” by Andrew M. Stauffer (2000)

Stauffer considers the role of outrage and anger in Shelley’s vision of radical revolution.

“Apocapolitics: Allusion and Structure in Shelley’s ‘Mask of Anarchy’” by Morton D. Paley (1991)

Paley considers the sometimes contradictory qualities of the poem, like its relationship with violence, and the response to the poem. He focuses this argument on the structure of the poem to argue that this contradiction is purposeful.

“The Necessity of Response: How Shelley’s Radical Poetry Works” by Richard Hendrix (1978)

In this essay, Hendrix argues that Shelley intended for his works to cause radical action in the present moment as Shelley’s visionary radicalism has a surprising immediacy.

“This Month in History: The Peterloo Massacre” by The Gazette (2019)

This article describes the Peterloo Massacre in a complete and comprehensible manner. It also includes images related to the events.

“Eye Witnesses” from Peterloo Witness Project

The Peterloo Witness Project includes many primary sources about the Peterloo Massacre. This collection includes five of the eyewitness accounts of the massacre.

Enquiry Concerning Political Justice and its Influence on Morals and Happiness by William Godwin (1793)

This longer work argues for a vision of human perfectibility that depends on a critique of political institutions. He criticizes institutions such as property monopoly, marriage, and monarchy for prohibiting the progress of mankind. His political philosophy greatly influenced Shelley, who was responsible for bringing these radical ideas into Romantic poetry. The influence of this work can be explicitly noted in Shelley’s Queen Mab.