Sally's Class Summary

Through the readings assigned for our class today, we began our unit on society and political economy. The poems that we read by William Cobbett, Hannah More, and Robert Burns focused mainly on the issues of poverty and political uprisings. Both our large and small group discussions centered on the poetic responses of More and Burns to the prevalent economic and socio-political issues of their time. Dr. Foss began our large group time with his excited proclamation of the word “Egypt!” He then went on to expound upon this unexpected utterance, relating the recent uprisings in Egypt to the events of the French Revolution. The uncertainty that many are unfeeling towards the outcome of the political movements in Egypt is very similar to the way that eighteenth century people felt about the French Revolution. Thus, the topics that we cover in class, such as imperialism and human and civil rights, are still relevant to the modern world. Foss then moves on to Cobbett and More. He touches briefly on the William Cobbett poem that we were assigned, Cobbett’s Poor Man’s Friend, relaying that poverty is often present in literature throughout the romantic period in. At this time, the industries of the rural poor, such as spinning and farming, are being usurped by large factories. This beginning of industrialization is forcing the poor to move to the cities and find factory jobs instead of remaining in the countryside. Hannah More took note of the increasing level of poverty in the cities and began to publish her series of “Cheap Repository Tracts,” of which we read a selection of for today. Due to the fact that the tracts were so cheap, the lower class was able to purchase them, therefore giving them the opportunity to become literate. More’s involvement in the bettering of the lower class was the focus of our first small group discussion. While examining More’s poems of “Patient Joe, of the Newcastle Collier,” “The Riot; or, Half a Loaf Is Better Than No Bread," and "The Gin Shop; or, a Peep into Prison," our small group attempted to decipher what More’s response to poverty might be, and how she is advocating the virtues of honesty, thrift, sobriety, and cleanliness while opposing the idea of false religion as well as alcohol and other vices. The morals that we took from “Patient Joe” were that misfortune should make you humble and no matter what happens to you, the proper response is to accept it and be happy. One group member compared Joe’s life to the book of Job in the Old Testament, except that More’s poem is more accessible to the public, especially to those who are unreligious. In this text More is reinforcing her negative opinions toward the idea of upward mobility. This theme is also prevalent in “The Riot; or, Half a Loaf is Better Than No Bread,” in which More is strongly advocating against riots, an act which suggests that its supporters are fighting for a change. While discussing “The Gin Shop,” a group member shared the fact that in these times it was unlikely for the poor to be able to afford decent drinking water, causing them to turn to the cheaper option of gin instead. With this fact in mind, as well as the knowledge that More was most likely middle class, we began to feel that More was addressing the situations caused by poverty without even fully understanding it. She heavily condemns those who turn to gin, but fails to acknowledge that they may not have had another option in terms of beverages. Overall, we concluded that her general message is that one should be upbeat in their poverty, even though they may not have enough to eat and their circumstances are less than ideal. She seemed to romanticize their situation, claiming that if they were to focus their energies on productive pursuits then they would be able to better themselves. Once back in large group, the class expressed that while the effects of More’s work are progressive, particularly the literacy increase, the messages conveyed through her text is not. The class wondered whether “Patient Joe” was perhaps meant to be ironic, given that Joe’s character is sickeningly humble. The theory was posed that the poem might in fact be a critique of society for their negative treatment of the poor while thinking that they should be satisfied in their impoverished state. It was decided that the poems are all written to slightly different audiences of the lower class in order to divide the masses and therefore eliminate the threat of the masses rioting to better their situation. During our large group discussion of “The Gin Shop,” the class proclaimed that a great deal of the poem focuses on blaming the gin itself for what it is doing to the lives of its users, although the individuals themselves are clearly the responsible ones. This notion relates back to Cobbett’s piece, in which he also places the blame for society’s circumstances on everything but the government. Here More is demonizing gin so greatly that she is making it seem worse than war or poverty, simplifying gin into becoming the root of all evil. More, while attempting to reach the masses, writes more in a manner that seems condescending and judgmental rather than relatable. After discussing More, we then moved on to the poetry of Robert Burns. In “To a Mouse, on Turning Her up in Her Nest, with the Plough, November, 1785,” Burns seems to sympathize with the mouse, leading the reader to believe that the mouse represents the Scottish people. Like the mouse, Burns’ people also need to steal food to stay alive, and many have no home. His work “Song-For a’ that and a’ that-” is contrasting the honest, poor man with the wealthy, untrustworthy nobles, making it an argument for the fundamental humanity of society. In our small group time we first discussed his reasons for writing his poems in the accent of the Scottish brogue. Since Burns came from humble beginnings and is known as the poet of the people, it may be partially a commercial gimmick, but is also a way to empower the Scottish people by refusing to write in the language of their oppressor. This idea is presented in “John Barleycorn. A Ballad,” in which John is crushed by three kings, representative of the violence of the British kingdom, and yet he refuses to be beaten. John comes back to life and nourishes the people of Scotland with his body; much like Burns is nourishing their intellect and revolutionary tendencies with his writing. By choosing to write in the Scottish brogue and focusing on the risqué topic of fornication, Burns is undermining the British notion of Christian morality, as well as empowering the impoverished. Both More and Burns discuss the issues of poverty and political uprising, but each holds a contrasting view to the other. More feels that the poor should accept their lowly state and be happy with it, while Burns is inciting the people to take a stand against their oppressors and riot.

Word Count: 1,188

-Sally Mathis