"Song to the Men of England" is English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley's call to revolution. The poem's speaker asks the laborers of England a provocative question: why on earth do you go on working to enrich an oppressive upper class when the country's wealth is really in your hands? This radical message was deemed so dangerous that the poem was never published in Shelley's lifetime; it first appeared in print in the 1839 collection Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley, 20 years after Shelley wrote it (and 17 years after Shelley himself died).
Get
LitCharts
|
1Men of England, wherefore plough
2For the lords who lay ye low?
3Wherefore weave with toil and care
4The rich robes your tyrants wear?
5Wherefore feed and clothe and save
6From the cradle to the grave
7Those ungrateful drones who would
8Drain your sweat—nay, drink your blood?
9Wherefore, Bees of England, forge
10Many a weapon, chain, and scourge,
11That these stingless drones may spoil
12The forced produce of your toil?
13Have ye leisure, comfort, calm,
14Shelter, food, love’s gentle balm?
15Or what is it ye buy so dear
16With your pain and with your fear?
17The seed ye sow, another reaps;
18The wealth ye find, another keeps;
19The robes ye weave, another wears;
20The arms ye forge, another bears.
21Sow seed—but let no tyrant reap:
22Find wealth—let no imposter heap:
23Weave robes—let not the idle wear:
24Forge arms—in your defence to bear.
25Shrink to your cellars, holes, and cells—
26In halls ye deck another dwells.
27Why shake the chains ye wrought? Ye see
28The steel ye tempered glance on ye.
29With plough and spade and hoe and loom
30Trace your grave and build your tomb
31And weave your winding-sheet—till fair
32England be your Sepulchre.
1Men of England, wherefore plough
2For the lords who lay ye low?
3Wherefore weave with toil and care
4The rich robes your tyrants wear?
5Wherefore feed and clothe and save
6From the cradle to the grave
7Those ungrateful drones who would
8Drain your sweat—nay, drink your blood?
9Wherefore, Bees of England, forge
10Many a weapon, chain, and scourge,
11That these stingless drones may spoil
12The forced produce of your toil?
13Have ye leisure, comfort, calm,
14Shelter, food, love’s gentle balm?
15Or what is it ye buy so dear
16With your pain and with your fear?
17The seed ye sow, another reaps;
18The wealth ye find, another keeps;
19The robes ye weave, another wears;
20The arms ye forge, another bears.
21Sow seed—but let no tyrant reap:
22Find wealth—let no imposter heap:
23Weave robes—let not the idle wear:
24Forge arms—in your defence to bear.
25Shrink to your cellars, holes, and cells—
26In halls ye deck another dwells.
27Why shake the chains ye wrought? Ye see
28The steel ye tempered glance on ye.
29With plough and spade and hoe and loom
30Trace your grave and build your tomb
31And weave your winding-sheet—till fair
32England be your Sepulchre.
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 halls 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.
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
Shelley's Rediscovered Political Poetry — Learn more about Shelley's polemical poetry in an article about a recently rediscovered poem he wrote while he was a student at Oxford University.
The Poem Aloud — Listen to a dramatic reading of the poem.
A Brief Biography — Learn more about Shelley's life and work at the Poetry Foundation.
The Keats-Shelley Museum — Visit the website of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Museum to learn more about how Shelley fit into the Romantic movement.
Portraits of Shelley — See some images of Shelley at London's National Portrait Gallery.
The Post-Napoleonic Depression — Learn more about the tumultuous period of English history when this poem was written.