Song to the Men of England

I

Men of England, wherefore plough For the lords who lay ye low? Wherefore weave with toil and care The rich robes your tyrants wear?

II

Wherefore feed, and clothe, and save, From the cradle to the grave, Those ungrateful drones who would Dram your sweat — nay, drink your blood?

Ill

Wherefore, Bees of England, forge Many a weapon, chain and scourge, That these stingless drones may spoil The forced produce of your toil?

IV

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 Reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901)

In 1838 Thomas Carlyle

Queen Victoria

(1795-1881), the Scottish essay­ist, was one of those who was lucky to see Queen Victoria in an open carriage with her maids-of-honour. It seemed to Carlyle that the Queen was "a bit modest and nice, blue eyes, light hair, fine white skin." Victoria was only 17.

She was beautiful and people looked at her with adoration, in "perfect silence". She reigned for 64 years and was the first to live in Buckingham Palace. Her personal behaviour was the example of moral dignity and faith to her country and her husband Prince Albert (1819-1861) who died at 42. Victoria managed to make Britain powerful and strong.

At the same time there was social injustice and poverty everywhere. The Chartist Movement in 1838 was the sign that the revolution might be near: factories were closed, wages were reduced, 2 mln people became unemployed, many of them lived in the workhouses in poverty and misery. The use of child labour in the coal mines and factories led to the Mines Act in 1842, for­bidding children from working underground, and the Factory Act in 1847, reducing the working day.

Romanticism now seemed too abstract and aloof with its symbols and mystery. It had already done its work. The social circumstances had changed. Everyday life of the "hungry forties" demanded a new literary presentation of the social problems. Hardships and suf­ferings of the common people were described in realistic prose. A new literary trend, Critical Realism, came into

being. The writers of those times touched on the several points of the contemporary life. One of the main literary themes reflected the relationships between men and women in the rapidly changing society. The main idea was the following: love may be a great pleasure, but marriage is a great misfortune. George Eliot (1819-1880) wrote about innocent and good-natured young lady who suffered a lot after her marriage to a selfish and cold-hearted man. Sisters Bronte (Emily and Charlotte) wrote about the eventful lives of generous but unknown girls. Robert Browning (1812-1889) entitled his collection of poems "Men and Women" (1855). In it the author pointed out the idea that every time we try to get close' to a lover we only find emp­tiness:

— I try the fresh fortune,

Range the wide house from the wing to the centre.

Still the same chance! she goes out as I enter.

Finally, the Victorian writers' interest in children was great because of their specific way of thinking, life experience and moral values. Everything was reflected in fiction, and among the writers of the Age of Critical Realism it was Charles Dickens (1812-1870) who wrote mainly about the injustice of the law and educa­tion, the relationships between adults and children, the rich and the poor. "Oliver Twist", "David Copper-field", "Dombey and Son", "Little Dorrit" described the lives of the most undefended individuals — children who became the symbol of the changing society.

Critical Realism had to reflect life as it was. Realistic prose took the shape of short essays, more objective and informative than romantic literature had been. But the influence of the romantic writers of the beginning of the 19th century was observed even in the works of the

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