10 The Romantics and Their Contemporaries

Transcription

1 10 Th Romantics and Thir Contmporaris prophtic slf-lvation (Blak and Shlly), poignant song (Hmans), intrnal dbat (Kats), or what Kats, thinking of Wordsworth, calld th "gotistical sublim." Many of its forms dfind a radical or alinatd subjctivity. Wollstoncraft wrot as a nonconformist, Cowpr~ and Hmans wr famous for th mlancholy autobiography that haunts thir potry, whil pots such as Byron, Colridg, and Shlly cultivatd th "I" as antihro: th xil, th damnd visionary, th alinatd idalist, th outcast, whos affiliats wr Cain, Satan, vn th paradoxical figur of Napolon-all joind by th passion of mind and th tormnts of imagination. Whthr cast as xprimnt and innovation or allid with librty and rvolution, ths nw xprssiv forms wr sharpnd by a sns of modrnity, th writrs oftn viwing old forms and traditions as tyranny or, at th vry last, as th stricturs of custom and habit. Rvoking th noclassical argumnt of Drydn (in th svntnth cntury) that th pot is rsponsibl for "putting bounds to a wild ovr-flowing Fancy," Wordsworth assrtd in th Prfac to Lyrical Ballads (1800) that potry is a "spontanous ovrflow of powrful flings," in which (h xplaind in a latr vrsion) "th fling... givs importanc to th action and situation, and not th action and situation to th fling." Framing "incidnts of common lif," h gav importanc to th fling of such socially disnfranchisd figurs as childrn, brft mothrs, impovrishd shphrds, bggars, and old vtrans. In a lctur "On th Living Pots" (1818), William Hazlitt satirizd this "mixd rabbl of... convicts, fmal vagrants, gipsis,... idot boys and mad mothrs... pasants, pdlars," but Wordsworth's rvolution was to trat thm all as vhicls of worthy imagination and passion. Hazlitt had no troubl linking this program to "th sntimnts and opinions which producd th Frnch rvolution" as wll as its "principls and vnts": Th chang in th blls-lttrs was as complt, and... as startling, as th chang in politics, with which it wnt hand in hand.... According to th prvailing notions, all was to b(~othing that was stablishd was to b tolratd.... Kings and qunswr dthrond from thir rank and station in lgitimat tragdy or pic potry, as thy wr dcapitatd lswhr; rhym was l ~>0kd upon as a rlic of th fudal systm, and rgular mtr was abolishd along with rguiar govrnmnt. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND ITS REVERBERATIONS In th 1780s, th Amrican Rvolution was a rcnt mmory for th British, at onc an inspiration to political progrssivs, an mbarrassmnt for th prstig of th Empir, and a worry to a consrvativ ruling class concrnd about th arrival of dmocratic idas on British shors. Whn th nxt Rvolution xplodd in Franc just a fw mils across th Channl, rathr than a hmisphr away, th prss of radical, violnt, and invitabl chang smd imminnt. With th fall of th Bastill prison, a symbol of royal tyranny, on 14 July 1789, and th Dclaration of th Rights of Man that soon followd, British consciousnss was dominatd by Frnch vnts. Consrvativs wr alarmd, whil librals wlcomd th arly phas as a rptition of England's "Glorious Rvolution" of 1688, an ovrdu nd to fudal abus and th inauguration of constitutional govrnmnt. Radicals hopd for a mor thorough-going rnovation: "Bliss was it in that dawn to b aliv,/ But to b young was vry havn!" Wordsworth said in rtrospct, in a passag from his potic autobiography that h publishd in 1809, and again in 1815 undr th titl Frnch Rvolution as it Appard to Enthusiasts at its Comm country in Romanc!" H visionary world smd to was dramt of but th rg to man th world o'r / S stoncraft, Blak, and Ch tions, Byron and Prcy Sh could b continud lswh Bttr consquncs, harsh dvlopmnts: th o month, th massacr of m trmist Jacobins prvaild th Rign of Trror. Louis tointt in Octobr. In F catd, throwing th politi conflict with thir lov o Pac of Amins ( commntd), Britain was Watrloo in Th sh crdit to th consrvativ Franc, publishd in , 790 Burk smd a sn subjct to sarcastic chall (f?9o)-and Tom Pain's Godwin's Political Justic, of a socity govrnd by tions or privat proprty. Undr th systmati crats, thir mploys, tn guillotind, th violnc incrasd whn Franc o Nthrlands and th Gr land in Now "Op changd a war of slf-d had struggld for" (1805 solidatd his powr in t namd First Consul for Ii its dspotism confirmd plx prsonality-a chal nius; a ruthlss, gotistic ravagd th Continnt. cost thousands of Britis Whn Napolon i spontanous rsistanc cals to rturn to th pa against Frnch impria tional unanimity un

2 Th Romantics and Thir Contmporaris 11 to Enthusiasts at its Commncmnt. Evrything was infusd with "th attraction of a country in Romanc!" H was not th only on in raptur. Southy rcalld how "a visionary world smd to opn... Old things smd passing away, and nothing was dramt of but th rgnration of th human rac." Bums was crtain that "man to man th world o'r / Shall brithrs b for a' that." In thir own idioms, Wollstoncraft, Blak, and Charls Lamb joind th chorus, and in subsqunt gnrations, Byron and Prcy Shlly continud to hop that what was startd in Franc could b continud lswhr with bttr consquncs. Bttr consquncs, bcaus millnarian drams wr soon undrmind by harsh dvlopmnts: th ovrthrow of th monarchy in August 1792 and in th nxt month, th massacr of mor than a thousand prisonrs by a Paris mob. Whn xtrmist Jacobins prvaild ovr modrat Girondins, th Rvolution fragmntd into th Rign of Trror. Louis XVI was guillotind in January 1793, Qun Mari Antointt in Octobr. In Fbruary, Franc dclard war on Britain and Britain rciprocatd, throwing th political idals of Wordsworth and his gnration into sharp conflict with thir lov of country. Excpt for th brif intrlud of th dcptiv Pac of Amins ( : "Pac in a wk, war in a month," a British diplomat commntd), Britain was at war with Franc until th final dfat of Napolon at Watrloo in Th shock of ths vnts lastd for dcads and lnt rtroactiv crdit to th consrvativ polmic of Edmund Burk's Rflctions on th Rvolution in Franc, publishd in 1790, aftr th arrst and imprisonmnt of th royal family. In Burk smd - a sntimntal hystric to political opponnts and was quickry subjct to sarcastic challng in o stoncraft s indication of11i mghts ofmn ( 1790) and Tom Pain's Rights of Man (1791 ). In 1793 radical philosophr William Godwin's Political]ustic, though not dirctly about th Rvolution, offrd a vision of a socity govrnd by individual rason. without th opprssion of social institutions or privat proprty. ut th cours of th Rvolution confirmd Burk's alar~ Undr th systmatic Trror of Robspirr ( ), thousands of aristocrats, thir mploys, th clrgy, and ostnsibl opponnts of th Rvolution wr guillotind, th violnc swallowing up Robspirr himslf in British unas incrasd whn Franc offrd to support all rvolutions abroad, and thn invadd th Nthrlands and th Grman stats in 1794, Italy in 1796, and rpublican Switzrland in Now "Opprssors in thir tum," Wordsworth wrot, "Frnchmn had changd a war of slf-dfns J For on of conqust, losing sight of all / Which thy had struggld for" (1805 Prlud ). In 1799 Napolon, a gnral who consolidatd his powr in th Italian and Swiss campaigns, stagd a coup d'tat and was namd First Consul for lif. Th Rvolution had volvd into a military dictatorship, its dspotism confirmd whn Napolon crownd himslf Empror in A complx prsonality-a challngr of ntrnchd monarchis; a charismatic military gnius; a ruthlss, gotistical imprialist-h gnratd narly two dcads of war that ravagd th Continnt. Although war barly rachd Britain, it was a constant thrat, cost thousands of British livs and snt its conomy into turmoil. Whn Napolon invadd th Ibrian Pninsula in 1807, British support for th spontanous rsistanc of th Portugus and Spanish popls nabld formr radicals to rturn to th patriotic fold, to s thir country as th champion of librty against Frnch imprialism. Napolon's actions, claimd Colridg, producd a "national unanimity unxampld in our history sinc th rign of Elizabth... and

3 12 Th Romantics and Thir Contmporaris.1.~ElSM. REBEWO}(T.RI\S01, '.JIM4ftGHY,11URDER EQUAL/TY.ftL-IDNESS. CRIJEL7Y. JXJilSTICE TREACHERY l\fgrkjti'jde IDLESFS " Thomas Rowlandson, aftr a drawing by Lord Gorg Murray, Th Contrast, British propaganda against th rvolution in Franc. mad us all onc mor Englishmn." English slf-dfinition was nrgizd, th contst with Franc drawing on historical antagonisms that wnt back for cnturis. Unlik th English, th Frnch rjctd thir monarchy; if Franc could thus claim to b th first modrn nation in th old world, Britain could fl suprior to a country dfind by th Trror and thn Napolon. National slf-dfinition had strong litrary manifstations. Hmans bgan hr carr with patriotic anthms clbrating Britain's support for th "nobl" (and highly "romantic") Spanish rsistanc, and across ths dcads sh publishd Wlsh Mlodis, Grk Songs, Songs of Spain, National Lyrics, and vn th canonical Amrican anthm, "Th Landing of th Pilgrim Fathrs" (our "Thanksgiving" hymn). Thomas Moor wrot Irish Mlodis ( ) and championd th grivancs of Irland. Byron wrot H/Jrw Mlodis (1815), got involvd with Italian libration movmnts, and in his last rallif romanc, did in Grc whr h had gon to aid th rvolution against th Ottoman Empir. Yt vn as class diffrncs blndd into a gnral cultur of songs for th salon, and mad nationalism a vivid "romanc," continuing disturbancs pointd to thos xcludd from Colridg's idal of "us all... Englishmn." With vr frsh fars. of invasion, th govrnmnt clampd down on any form of political xprssion that hintd at Frnch idas. Efforts to rform Parliamnt bgun in th 1780s wr stifld, as was th movmnt to abolish th slav trad, and vn modrats wr silncd by accusations of "Jacobinism" (sympathy with Rvolutionary xtrmists). In 1791 authoritis in Birmingham connivd at thr days of riots by a loyal "Church and King" mob against Dissntrs Bastill. Whn his ho nonconformist Josph P Pain fld to Frano Rights of Man, and his p twlv London radicals Holcroft, and Hom To tmpt to dmocratiz la1 Godwin and acquittd, In th govmn which rquird th stat timly fashion; now an Gagging Acts of 1795 tai of th monarchy as tras of mtings calld to workmn, undr pnalty purposs of collctiv ba Colridg and Wordsw Bristol Channl and plo Ball.ads, lookd suspicio Colridg was amusd t rfrncs to "Spy Nozy,' govrnmnt was also d offncs. Ths infiltrato 1817 and th Cato Strt (a prim ministr had b Strt" was "xposd" at Australia, but th ultima mor svr outsid Engl tion of rformrs wr arr Irland, whr Britain ha was crushd in a bloodbat prssion at hom and war Whn Napolon was final thron of Franc, th rs monarchis all ovr Europ In th England of 1 whom wr many vtran porting grain had bn i soard; th Com Laws n high prics, a boon for la chif articl of dit. Bad h mat of th Morning Chro th adult mal population dr th unrformd lctor for thos without rprs thm, wr allowd to vot

4 Th Romantics and Thir Contmporaris 13 mob against Dissntrs who had hld a dinnr to commmorat th Fall of th Bastill. Whn his hous and laboratory wr sackd, th minnt chmist and nonconformist Josph Pristly fld to London and thn migratd to Amrica. In 1792 Pain fld to Franc; h was trid and convictd in absntia of sdition for Th Rights of Man, and his publishrs and booksllrs wr rgularly proscutd. In 1794, twlv London radicals wr arrstd, including a novlist and playwright, Thomas Holcroft, and Horn T ook, a philologist whos publications smd a dangrous attmpt to dmocratiz languag. Chargd with high trason, thy wr dfndd by Godwin and acquittd, but th trial was a harbingr. In th govrnmnt suspndd th long- tablishd right of habas corpus, which rquird th stat to show caus for imprisonmnt and to conduct trials in a timly fashion; now anyon suspctd of a crim could b jaild indfinitly. Th Gagging Acts of 1795 targtd radical lcturrs and socitis, dfining any criticism of th monarchy as trason and squlching political organization by limiting th siz of mtings calld to discuss rform. Th Combination Act of forbad workmn, undr pnalty of conspiracy chargs, to unioniz or vn to associat for purposs of collctiv bargaining. All ths laws wr nforcd by govrnmnt spis. Colridg and Wordsworth, walking and convrsing on th coastal hills of th Bristol Channl and plotting nothing mor rvolutionary than poms for Lyrical Ballads, lookd suspicious nough to warrant tailing by a govrnmnt informr. Colridg was amusd that thir talk of th philosophr Spinoza was rportd as rfrncs to "Spy Nozy," but actual radicals suffrd svrr consquncs, for th govrnmnt was also dploying agnts provocaturs to incit thm into capital offncs. Ths infiltrators playd a major rol in plotting th Pntridg Rising of 1817 and th Cato Strt Conspiracy of 1820, a schm to murdr cabint ministrs (a prim ministr had bn assassinatd in 1812) and stag a coup d'tat. "Cato Strt" was "xposd" and its radical conspirators hangd or snt to prison in Australia, but th ultimat conspirator had bn th govrnmnt. Policy was still mor svr outsid England: in Edinburgh, dlgats to th first British Convntion of rformrs wr arrstd for sdition and doomd to sntncs in Australia; in Irland, whr Britain had mor troops than on th Continnt, a pasants' rbllion was crushd in a bloodbath (1798). Rathr than intrnational "fratrnity," it was rprssion at hom and wars abroad that dfind th lgacy of th Frnch Rvolution. Whn Napolon was finally dfatd in 1815 and th Bourbons wr rstord to th thron of Franc, th rsult was to rinforc ractionary masurs and dspotic monarchis all ovr Europ. In th England of 1815, a furthr affliction was visitd on th poor, among whom wr many vtrans, by Parliamnt's passag of th Com Laws. Bcaus importing grain had bn impossibl during th war yars, prics for nativ grain soard; th Corn Laws now rstrictd imports in ordr to sustain th artificially high prics, a boon for landlords and a disastr for th poor, for whom brad was a chif articl of dit. Bad harvsts furthr raisd costs. For th first tim, in th stimat of th Morning Chronicl, protsts and ptitions ruptd from "a majority of th adult mal population of England," igniting food riots across th country. Undr th unrformd lctoral systm, ptitions to Parliamnt wr th only rcours for thos without rprsntativs. In 1800 only mals, and only fiv prcnt of thm, wr allowd to vot; only Anglicans, mmbrs of th stat Church, could

5 14 Th Romantics and Thir Contmporaris srv in th Hous of Lords. Workrs did not hav a vot, or vn a rprsntativ in Parliamnt. Th workr-populatd citis of Lds, Manchstr, Birmingham, and Shffild did not hav a vot, whras dpopulatd "rottn boroughs," consisting of on or two houss ownd by a singl landlord, njoyd on or vn two rprsntativs in Parliamnt. As th Princ Rgnt rturnd from th opning of Parliamnt in January 1817, h found his carriag surroundd by a hostil crowd and stond. Workrs wr also bing displacd by nw machinry; thy somtims rtaliatd with attacks on th machins thmslvs, actions punishabl by dath. (Byron's first spch in th Hous of Lords was against such a masur, th Fram-braking Bill provokd by wavrs' riots.) Throughout th 1820s, farmworkrs, angry at thir dgradd conditions, ruptd into sporadic violnc, culminating in a grat uprising in 1830, in which barns burnd across th countrysid, and laborrs again attackd machinry. Th unmployd starvd to dath. Mn scrambld for mploymnt, whil womn and childrn, bcaus thy wr dmd tractabl and obdint, found it at pitiful wags. Prvailing attituds and institutions wr inadquat to amliorat th misry and consqunt disruptions. Sinc Elizabthan tims, England had rlid on a ntwork of parishs and justics of th pac: local notabls, srving in a largly voluntr capacity that nhancd thir status, who kpt rcords, assistd th ndy, and administrd vryday justic. Indignt nwcomrs to th citis could not asily b rturnd to thir hom parishs for support; thy wr ndd as workrs. And th parish systm lft out many: Irish Catholic immigrants, mmbrs of dissnting scts, and thos lapsd from an Anglicanism that had faild to build churchs for th nw populations and at worst smd rmot from thir concrns. Whn Lord John Mannrs dclard that "th only mans of Christianizing Manchstr" was to rviv th monastris, h mad clar th inadquacy of th currnt stat Church to supply moral authority, social structur, and ndd assistanc. No wondr that it was in Manchstr that th modrn vocabulary of class struggl mrgd. Th ightnth-cntury idal of stabl social "ordrs" and "ranks" was challngd by a growing antagonism btwn succssful capitalist ntrprnurs and thir workrs. In August 1819, narly a hundrd thousand mill-workrs and thir familis gathrd at narby St. Ptr's Fild for a pacful dmonstration with bannrs and parads, cappd by an addrss by th radical "Orator" Hunt calling for parliamntary rform. Alarmd by th spctacl, th local ruling class snt thir drunkn, sabr-wilding militia to charg th rally and arrst Hunt. Hunt offrd no rsistanc, but th militia struck out at th jring though unarmd crowd and, backd by mountd Hussars, in tn minuts lft an official toll of lvn dad, including on trampld child, and mor than four hundrd injurd, many from sabr wounds. Unrportd injuris and latr daths from injury undoubtdly addd to th official toll. This pivotal vnt in nintnth-cntury conomic and political strif was immdiatly dubbd "Ptrloo" by th lft prss-a sardonic cho of th clbratd British triumph ovr Napolon at Watrloo, four yars bfor. Parliamnt did not rform, but instad consolidatd th rprssiv masurs of prvious dcads into th notorious Six Acts at th nd of Ths Acts outlawd dmonstrations, mpowrd magistrats to ntr privat houss in sarch of arms, prohibitd mtings of mor than fifty unlss all participants wr rsidnts of th parish in which th mting was hld, incrasd th proscution of blasphmous or sditious libl (dfind as languag "tnding to bring into hatrd or contmpt" th monarchy o ing th circulation of Willi Outragd by th situation England in 1819, th titl c in a radical nwspapr sucl An old, mad, blind Princs, th drgs o Through public sco Rulrs who nithr Th Lar-lik king who in nist in th Amrican Rva and anothr in 1788: h ta! to throttl him. Th pisoc litical conflicts of th lat ( siv administrations wr i committd to th constitut to concssions of gratr r at taxpayrs' xpns, witr unconstitutionally marrid lif from Parliamnt of 10i rsidnc, Carlton Housbcaus his comparativ pc backd by th opposition p th King unxpctdly ro and bcam prmanntly n In this nw position c th tim. In 1812, th Mor it th nicknam of th " brath loqunc, you in and John Hunt rplid in' corpulnt gntlman of fifi singl claim on th gratitu rjoindr arnd thm twc Hunt continud to dit Th gntlman's parlor, whr Manwhil, th Prin his architcts rcratd R linking thm by xtndi1 ingham Hous into Buci "mtropolitan improvmi catd th boundaris bt of his blovd rtrat, th tanc from th vryday i

6 Th Romantics and Thir Contmporaris 15 contmpt" th monarchy or govrnmnt), and raisd th nwspapr tax, thus constricting th circulation of William Cobbtt's radical Political Rgistr by tripling its pric. THE MONARCHY Outragd by th situation summd by "Ptrloo," Prcy Shlly mordantly survyd England in 1819, th titl of a sonnt whos languag rndrd it unpublishabl, vn in a radical nwspapr such as his frind Ligh Hunt's Examinr. It bgan: An old, mad, blind, dspisd, and dying King, Princs, th drgs of thir dull rac, who flow Through public scom,-mud from a muddy spring, Rulrs who nithr s, nor fl, nor know... y l 1- ir s a - d- in o" at r- 19. Th Lar-lik king who inspird this contmpt was Gorg Ill, Washington's antagonist in th Amrican Rvolution. H had had an pisod of mntal instability in 1765 and anothr in 1788: h talkd incssantly and rarly slpt, and onc his ldst son trid to throttl him. Th pisod at onc pitomizd thir antagonism and rflctd th political conflicts of th lat Gorgian ra. Th King livd a domstic lif and his succssiv administrations wr firmly Tory-that is, socially and politically "consrvativ," committd to th constitutional powr of th monarchy and th Church, and opposd to concssions of gratr rligious and political librtis. Th Princ livd xtravagantly at taxpayrs' xpns, with a dvout Roman Catholic mistrss whom h scrtly and unconstitutionally marrid. In 1787 h obtaind an xtra 10,000 from th King, a rlif from Parliamnt of 100,000 to pay his dbts, and an additional 60,000 to build his rsidnc, Carlton Hous-a total quivalnt to almost svn million dollars today. But bcaus his comparativ political flxibility hld out th hop of som rforms, h was backd by th opposition party, th libral Whigs. H xpctd th crown in 1788, but th King unxpctdly rcovrd, hanging on until Novmbr 1810, whn h rlapsd and bcam prmanntly mad. In January 1811 th Princ was appointd "Rgnt." In this nw position of powr, h focusd all th contradictions and tnsions of th tim. In 1812, th Morning Post addrssd him in th loyalist hyprbol that arnd it th nicknam of th "Fawning Post": "You ar th glory of th Popl... You brath loqunc, you inspir th Gracs-You ar an Adonis in lovlinss." Ligh and John Hunt rplid in Th Examinr, dnouncing "this Adonis in Lovlinss" as "a corpulnt gntlman of fifty... a man who had just closd half a cntury without on singl claim on th gratitud of his country or th rspct of postrity." Thir scathing rjoindr arnd thm two-yar sntncs for libl and fins of 500 ach, but Ligh Hunt continud to dit Th Examinr from his prison cll, which h transformd into a gntlman's parlor, whr h was visitd as a hro by Byron, Moor, Kats, and Lamb. Manwhil, th Princ Rgnt was transforming th fac of London. H and his architcts rcratd Rgnt's Park in th north and St. Jams Park in th south, linking thm by xtnding Rgnt Strt, built Trafalgar Squar, lvatd Buckingham Hous into Buckingham Palac, and rctd th Hyd Park arch. Th "mtropolitan improvmnts" bspok imprssiv city planning, but also dmarcatd th boundaris btwn rich and poor. Th Gothic/Chins/Indian fantasy of his blovd rtrat, th Brighton Pavilion, spok vn mor loudly of his distanc from th vryday lif of his subjcts. By 1815, whn 150 a yar providd a

7 16 Th Romantics and Thir Contmporaris has lt loos his blly portrait, Moor acid! paintr-a li upon car for fam. I NDUSTRIAL Thomas Lawrnc, Coronation Portrait of th Princ Rgnt (Gorg IV), Thomas Lawrnc ( ) succdd Sir Joshua Rynolds as paintr-in-ordinary to Gorg III whn still in his twntis, and h rmaind attachd to th monarchy vr aftrward. H had paintd portraits for th Rgnt of Frdrick William of Prussia and Tsar Alxandr and thir gnrals whn thy visitd London aftr th ovrthrow of Napolon in 1814, was knightd in 1815, and was dispatchd in 1818 to Europ ro complt th Rgnt's collction of portraits of th rstord sovrigns. This imag of th Princ Rgnt in his Coronation robs (1821) was dvlopd from an arlir portrait in Gartr robs that had bcom th Princ's favorit rprsntation of himslf. comfortabl living for many, h was 339,000 in dbt, an xtravaganc that brought contmpt on th monarchy. Th pity many still flt for Gorg III did not xtnd to th son. On his accssion to powr, h abandond his Whig frinds, sparatd his strangd Qun Carolin from thir daughtr Charlott, and was absnt from Charlott whn sh did in childbirth in In 1820, whn Gorg III did and h at last bcam King, h attmptd to divorc Carolin by initiating a sordid invstigation of hr scapads abroad. Th scandal rboundd on a man xcoriatd, in th Hunts' words, as "a librtin ovr had and hls in dbt and disgrac, a dspisr of domstic tis," and providd yt anothr handl for attacks upon him. Th prsonal lganc that had mad him "th first gntlman of Europ" had dissipatd; alrady in 1813, Bau Brummll, an aristocratic "dandy" whos impccabl styl and social assuranc mad him a paragon of th ra, rspondd to a slight by th Rgnt by loudly inquiring of a fllow dandy, "who's your fat frind?" Th Princ was too fat to mount his hors by 1816; by 1818 it was rportd that "Prinny In th dcads of this r ing, accompanid by Wals was around fivcnsus was takn, it was dcads. Scotland rgis lion. Traditionally vi as a dangr, inspiring th ulation As It Affcts t unchckd, incrass i mtical ratio. A slight first powr in comparis lation of Grat Britain Th numbrs tll cntury and thn with from agricultur, contr controlld by nw-mo rac of mrchants and n was born, rmarkd Co pumpd small towns in 1800 only Londor1-c-W Wals-had mor tha crownd, thr wr fi prcnt a dcad. Evn th north. Manchstd Cobbtt dnoun tmporaris, alarmd b housing, fard a rpti This unprcdnt Poor harvsts afflictd t aggravatd by th Com privatization of old co did improv agricultura Malthus's prdiction of i location and misry. T indpndnt, modst far whil th grat stats pi btt pungntly rmark nclosur had to sttl citis. Th cnsus of 18 nonagricultural mployu sturdy English frdom

8 Th Romantics and Thir Contmporaris 17 has lt loos his blly which now rachs his kns." Of his official Coronation portrait, Moor acidly notd that it was "disgracful both to th King & th paintr-a li upon canvas." It was invitabl that satiric sktchs would compt for fam. INDUSTRIAL ENGLAND AND "NEVER-RESTING LABOUR" II r- d of ait a- ric, im. isbl In th dcads of this royal xtravaganc, th gnral population was rapidly xpanding, accompanid by grim social misry. By 1750, th population of England and Wals was around fiv-and-a-half million; at th tum of th cntury, whn th first cnsus was takn, it was about ight million, with most of th incras in th last two dcads. Scotland rgistrd anothr million and a half, Irland mor than fiv million. Traditionally viwd as an indx to a nation's walth, population now loomd as a dangr, inspiring th dir prophcy of Thomas Malthus's On th Principl of Population As It Affcts th Futur Improvmnt of Socity (1798): "population, whn unchckd, incrass in a gomtrical ratio. Subsistnc incrass only in an arithmtical ratio. A slight acquaintanc with numbrs will show th immnsity of th first powr in comparison of th scond." Th incras continud: by 1831 th population of Grat Britain nard fourtn million. Th numbrs tll only part of th story. Evr sinc th nd of th ightnth cntury and thn with postwar acclration, th conomic bas had bgun to shift from agricultur, controlld by walthy aristocrats (th landlords), to manufactur, controlld by nw-mony industrialists. Th war against Franc fuld a surg: "A rac of mrchants and manufacturrs and bankrs and loan jobbrs and contractors" was born, rmarkd Cobbtt in Factoris and mills invadd th countrysid, pumpd small towns into burgoning citis, and citis into tming mtropoliss. In 1800 only London-with about tn prcnt of th population of England and Wals-had mor than a hundrd thousand popl. By 1837, whn Victoria was crownd, thr wr fiv such citis, and London was growing by as much as twnty prcnt a dcad. Evn mor staggring was th growth of th nw industrial citis of th north. Manchstr's population incrasd fivfold in fifty yars, to 142,000 in Cobbtt dnouncd ths dvlopmnts as "infrnal," and many of his contmporaris, alarmd by th nw populations and thir dmands for wags, food, and housing, fard a rptition at hom of th mob violnc of Franc. This unprcdntd concntration was th rsult of svral convrging factors. Poor harvsts afflictd th countrysid in th 1790s, and again in Scarcitis wr aggravatd by th Com Laws and vr mor "Enclosur acts"-th consolidation and privatization of old common filds into largr, mor fficint farms. Th modrnizing did improv agricultural yild and animal husbandry, offstting in som masur Malthus's prdiction of an inadquat food supply, but it also producd widsprad dislocation and misry. Th pattrn of country landholding changd. Smallholdrs, from indpndnt, modst farmrs to propritors of stats up to a thousand acrs, fll away, whil th grat stats prosprd in siz and numbr: "th big bull frog grasps all," Cobbtt pungntly rmarkd. Manwhil, th farmrs and hrdsmn rndrd landlss by nclosur had to sttl for magr subsistnc wags in th country or migrat to th citis. Th cnsus of 1811 rvald that for th first tim a majority of familis had nonagricultural mploymnt. Th yomn who had rprsntd th mythic hart of sturdy English frdom bcam day laborrs, whil othrs sank into povrty, and