Thomson's "Rule Britannia," is better known as a song than as a poem (how we're reading it). Here is the familiar chorus (which is all many people now know of the song):
Here is a more complete version (the song itself ends before the 4 minute mark):
This last version is the most recent iteration of an annual British rite at which an array of traditional British songs are sung, performed, and celebrated. The event is as much about the theater and spectacle as it is about the music, with creative variations every year on the ritualistic fixed elements of the event. The soloist this year departed from the norm, not only by cross-dressing, but by singing all the verses--usually they only get through one, even though the performance usually lasts six minutes or more.
The question I originally asked is: "On what basis does the poet assert the significance and power of his nation? What justification does he offer for Britain's "Rule"?" The three excellent responses offer a good gloss to the poem as a whole, and I encourage you to read them.
In preparation for Monday, I'd like to point out an unusual feature of the second YouTube clip above. No one ever sings ALL the verses of this poem, but one of the verses that ALWAYS gets omitted is the second one printed in your copy of the poem:
The nations, not so blest as thee,
Must, in their turns, to tyrants fall;
While thou shalt flourish great and free,
The dread and envy of them all.
The soloist in the clip I've given you doesn't sing the whole poem, but she leaves that stanza in. More typical is this version, which serves as the background to any number of jingoistic photomontages on YouTube (not just this one):
SO: Why leave that verse out? Why is it so unusual to include it?
Deadline: Monday (11/16), 11am (when class would ordinarily start).
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4 comments:
Thomson argues that Britain was given a divine authority to rule, as he states, "When Britain first, at Heaven's command, Arose from out the azure main..."(1-2). He says that Britain rose out from the seas and was given a divine purpose to rule. He continues this arguement by saying that "The Muses, still with freedom found, Shall to thy happy coast repair: Blest isle!(27-29). By saying that Britain is blessed and it's rule is overseen by the Muses, Thomson definitely defends the stance that Britain's rule has a sort of divine destiny.
I agree that the justification given by Thomson for Britan's rule appears to be divine preference. However, I also think that Thomson gives reasons for Britan's resilience as a major ruling power- it has been victorious in foreign disputes- "Still more majestic shalt thou rise, More dreadful, from each foreign stroke"- and Britan has 'overcome' threats from within - tryanical rulers " The nations, not so blest as thee, Must, in their turns, to tyrants fall; While thou shalt flourish great and free,"
In addition to the divine blessing and military might that Thomson extols, he also mentions the economic power of Britain: "To thee belongs the rural reign; / Thy cities shall with commerce shine: / All thine shall be the subject main, / And every shore it circles thine." He first praises the countryside of Britain, and then lauds the commercial aspect of the cities. It is clear from Britain's extensive colonies that they were indeed a great economic power, and thus it was an understandable aspect of the country to write about to justify its reign.
I agree with all three of the above comments; Thomson does assert Britain's dominance over other nations based on divine right, military might, and economic prowress. In light of the second question posed, I feel that the second stanza of the poem is often left out of the song based on political corectness. In the second verse, Thomson states that all other nations are doomed to fall, and that Britain will forever remain as "The dread and envy of them all" (10). When sung in a public setting, especially within a political sphere, this could be seen as a declaration of Britain's intent to dominate the world, rather than an assertion of national loyalty. Moreover, now that we have progressed past the imperialist age where the White Man's Burden ruled, (not to say that this attitude doesn't still exist, just that it is no longer an accepted political stance), this second stanza could be seen as a glorification of the tryanny Britain exerted over the peoples it conquered. In many ways, the reason so many "lesser" nations fell to Britain was because Britan was in fact the "tyrant" Thomson describes.
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