Friday poem: 'The Masque of Anarchy'

A Friday poem from Percy Bysshe Shelley's The Masque of Anarchy.

'The Masque of Anarchy' is a political poem written by Percy Bysshe Shelley in response to the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. It is a call for freedom, and a statement of the principle of nonviolent resistance.

The Masque of Anarchy - Percy Bysshe Shelley


'Men of England, heirs of Glory,

Heroes of unwritten story,

Nurslings of one mighty Mother,

Hopes of her, and one another;

'Rise like Lions after slumber

In unvanquishable number,

Shake your chains to earth like dew

Which in sleep had fallen on you -

Ye are many - they are few.'


Verses from Percy Bysshe Shelley's The Masque of Anarchy. Read the full poem here.


Walls Come Tumbling Down

by Daniel Rachel

On 5th August 1976, Eric Clapton made an inflammatory speech in support of Enoch Powell and ‘black' repatriation, sparking an anti-racism campaign that would radicalise a generation.

Daniel Rachel's Walls Come Tumbling Down charts the pivotal period between 1976 and 1992 that saw politics and pop music come together as never before to challenge racism, gender inequality and social and class divisions.