Analysis of Anna Barbauld - Essay Example

Analysis of Anna Barbauld Anna Barbauld was a British poet, who wrote political poems, children stories, hymns,and romantic poems. She is the first British most powerful and eloquent female poet, who also participated in liberal politics. The First Fire symbolizes the initial fire lit at the onset of autumn. The setting shows the different social classes and injustices accompanying social classification. The rich have sparkling glasses and live a fabulous life while the poor have to endure the hunger and live in cottages. The fireplace represents the British world that has to be protected against the ongoing French revolution. Eighteen Hundred and Eleven was composed when Britain was almost losing the Napoleonic war to France, and America was starting the second independence war. The poem aimed at urging the leaders to stop the war because the British glory was fading and America was becoming stronger. The effect of British civilization would remain in the western colonies even after the fall of the British Empire. The poems are persuasive, and there are different writing styles that are common in all of them. The author used different sentence structures, that is, loose, balanced, and periodic sentences. Sarcasm is a common feature created by Barbauld through the use of irony, metaphors, and allusion. Rhythm is developed through the use of rhyme schemes that give the poem a musical feeling. The writer has also used different words that carry a meaning different from the usual dictionary meaning. Imagery is achieved by the precise description of scenes and characters in the poem. The poet has used formal and informal words to create different flavors and diction. The use of informal words gives the poem an ancient flavor that was common in the eighteenth century. Introduction Anna Laetitia Barbauld was a liberal Unitarian, literary figure, polemicist, and a political opponent. She displayed conservative hatred in her work and attacked the political standpoint of conservative leaders. Her work includes romantic poems, children stories, political poems, and hymns that mainly aimed at changing the mindsets of the British political leaders. She is considered the most powerful and eloquent British poet of her time. Her career ended abruptly in 1812 after the publication of Eighteen Hundred and Eleven. This poem criticized the British participation in the Napoleonic wars. Politicians and article reviewers viciously criticized the poem, which made her quit publishing any more poems. Several of the romantic poets she had inspired during the French revolution also turned against her in the conservative years (Janowitz, 15). This damaged her reputation further and she concentrated on writing children stories. Her work returned to the limelight in the 1980’s with the rise of feminist literary criticism. Barbauld was an established poet who used several language patterns and writing styles in her poems. Several poems had a historical background that was either political, rights abuse, or romantic. According to several researchers, her poems traditionally commented on national events satirically but became more personal towards the end of her career. Some of her poems were sentimental, a writing style that covered personal occasions such as child birth. These poems commented on the daily occurrences and were meant to form a moral foundation. Some scholars have maintained that these styles and genres created feminine romanticism. Her political poems were usually written in a biting and sarcastic tone. They usually attacked politicians and legislators for violating the rights of the minorities such as dissenters and slaves. Her sarcasm and pessimism about the future of Britain attracted bitter criticism from both liberal and conservative magazines. These reviews ranged from negative to outrageous abusive comments. Barbauld had several ways of dealing with the problem of affective female discourse. One way was the use of feminine character forms and language. She used language that raised the female standards and challenged male philosophical traditions that demeaned women. In this vein, her language created a distinctive feminine voice in the literal and liberal spheres. Being a woman and a dissenter, Barbauld carried a unique view of the society that obligated her to publish social literature. Her language was neoclassic and used different conventions of the eighteenth century (Janowitz, 19). This included the use of heavy adjectives, and reversed order of words to create rhetoric effects. The sentence structure was also complex and included balanced, periodic, and loose sentences. The language used aimed at passing different messages to politicians, children, women, and men by addressing different language deficiencies among her audience. The First Fire The poem is a pragmatic, political variation that has since been referred to as the great romantic lyric (Anderson, 720). It was written at the onset of autumn and signified a personal awakening for Barbauld after her depression. The setting is of a traditional scene where people sat near a fire, which cheered and held them together in “All the dear charities of social life” (McCarthy, 518). The poem targets the social life of people who gather round the fire to socialize. The voice of the speaker is determinate due to the colloquialism of the voice “Ha, old acquaintance! Many a month has passed since last I viewed thy ruddy face”. This implies that the poem refers to the first fire of the year since the speaker has not seen the face of the acquaintance for long. The poem has an indoor setting as the fire attracts several young people addressed by the speaker. In the lyric, the romanticism revolves around the hearth and ranges from different social extremes. The poem addresses the rich and the poor, and the populous and the solitary. These classes indicate that the society was socially stratified, and the writer was aware of the class injustices. Towards the end, the writer calls the young people to action by signaling a moral decision. It moves from a passive meditation about the past and shifts into an energetic activity. The poem has a homely image of the fire that makes it localized and precise in its placement. Barbauld talks about the social gathering round the fire, which creates an image of a home setting. The historical implications are emphasized when the Frenchmen are mentioned “As Frenchmen say” (Anderson, 725). The Frenchmen had a theory that sulfur generated spleen and did not enjoy the feeling of sitting round a coal fire. Barbauld uses the universal language of human nature centered on the British people. The poem describes the onset of autumn when people lit coal fire in the hearth. This was a British tradition and the fire sites acted as socialization arenas. The sudden introduction of the Frenchmen compares the traditions between the two nations. The “sober comforts of a good coal fire” represents only Britain, as opposed to France. This indicates the domestic comforts that are unavailable to the lower classes of the Frenchmen, and it was worthy to wage a revolution (Perkins, 300). This language gives the interpretation that the Frenchman is to be pitied instead of being scorned for not having such experiences. This gave an interpretation of the ongoing French revolution and the recent Napoleonic wars. The Frenchman had to be assisted to have a taste of the comfort of coal fires of which they were becoming familiar. Metaphorical language is evident in the exclamation “this is my world! Who would not bleed rather than see thy violated hearth prest by a hostile foot?” The hearth is located in Britain and everything outside the country has to be sacrificed to protect “the world”. This introduces an aspect of nationalism and individualism that existed in Britain. The hearth represents the private household that has to be protected against external aggressors. This metaphor shows patriotism among the British, though intrusive governments are objectified. The British government wants to reduce the world to a close circle like the one that existed in a single fireplace. The British government had participated in the Napoleonic war and the ongoing French revolution (Barbauld, 75). The writer views the fireplace that was being mocked for its “grim attire and sooty jaws” worth protecting from invasion of foreign feet of the Frenchmen. The hearth in the poem is an intended allegory for the values held by the household. It depicts the true character of the family tradition and focuses on familial movements and conversations. The hearth appears to be a fraternizing factor that introduces the context of solidarity and communion as indicated in the line “daily gathering in friends, brethren, and kinsmen”. It acts as a catalyst for language since “people speak, and tales are told around it” which makes it a symbol of poetry. The fire eliminates the intellectual stiffening due to old age by creeping into the feeble frame of the old man and thawing the ice of fourscore years. This makes the youthful thoughts to rise, and the face of the old man is delighted (McCarthy, 520). The hearth acts as a comforter, socialization site, fascination for the young and a fosterer of civic commitment. This makes it an essential symbol for the British that brings different members of the society together. The sexuality of the sire is revealed by the bodily activities opposed to the passive thoughts. The warmth from the fire thaws the ice from his body and brings memories of his youth back. The sire sits himself “in the sunniest nook” feeling the warmth from the coal fire. The thoughts of the old man about his youth create a transition of the poem to the young people beside him. The young ones press closely to see his delighted face and feed their hunger with husks of nuts. These events display the sire as an old man, who cherishes his old age. The matron sage reflects the attitude and aspirations of the sire. The matron is depicted as an old woman who speaks within the hearing range of the young ones instead of speaking to them (Burwick, 542). The matron sage can be considered to be a portrait of the artist. Her figure represents the sexuality of the writer to be a female. Barbauld has used different writing styles that have enhanced the context of the poem. Her writing has used vignettes that are individualized portraits. They provide a context for different sections of the poem through socioeconomic progression. The first vignette deals with the rich class of people. This is implied by the line “heap on the fuel! Not the costly board, nor sparkling glass, nor wit, nor music, cheer without thy aid”. These lines present an allusion that provides an alternative interpretation of the fire as love. The setting of this vignette is similar to that outlined in 1st Corinthians 13. In the bible, Paul talks about how he has given his property to feed the poor and has sacrificed his body to be burnt, and this does not produce any profit. This allusion creates a mild discomfort among the rich people gathered round the hearth. The host is far from the self-sacrifice proposed by Paul that requires the rich to offer themselves as sacrifices (Anderson, 728). This scene of wealth provides context for the cottage where the sire and the matron sage reside. It lacks ample rich furniture “nor costly board” and “nor sparkling glass” and there is no noise “nor wit” and “nor music”. There are no people in the cottage until the unpleased traveler arrives, who appears round the fire where people of a low social class dominate. The traveler sees the “blaze” from the cottage window, and the shire sits on a ‘wicker chair”. This scene is a contrast to the previous scene of the wealthy that have modest chair, expensive boards and glasses. The immortal hunger of the fire is drawn from the human tendency of enduring hunger. This also resents those who pay for the wood that feeds such a mouth. These lines indicate the poverty endured by the people around the fire, who ate nuts to satisfy their immortal hunger. The children look at the face “delighted fire” and their faces begin to reflect it with a “gaze delighted” of their own. The word delighted has been repeated and creates a positive connotation. The flames of fire dart like the tongue of an adder upon its prey signifying their fierceness and its immortal hunger. The faces of the children mirror the fire until they come into contact with the blaze. The wreaths of smoke seem dangerous, but they are playthings for the children. These children listen to the matron sage and the old man and represent a real audience for the writer. The use of connotations gives words in a poem a different meaning from the ordinary dictionary meaning. In the opening line, the writer speaks to an old acquaintance that he has not met for several months indicating the end of winter and the beginning of winter. The fireplace is a social place where people from different age groups settle to listen to stories and socialize. The first lines of the second stanza create irony due to the solitude of “the solitary man” conversing with the fire. His musings cover the range from learned speculations of science to the “fancies gay” of fine arts. Irony is also revealed by the sympathetic fire that notices the lone musings of the poet. This explains the “eyes of vacancy” with which the poet gazes at the fire that are similar to those of the children. The fire reveals that it enjoys the poets high regard because of its destructive power and not due to the poet’s musing. The poet confides his crude fancies to the fire since he fears its critic scorn. Barbauld shifts from literal satire to human rights abuses by presenting the prisoner. He is locked in a narrow cell whose green damp walls weep unwholesome dew. The cell is locked with bolts and massive bars, and he is poverty stricken. The cell is built of clay and the prisoner can only stare through the broken pane. The walls are damp with dew and have never felt the healthy purifying influence of the fire. The prisoner is young, but the environment has made his life like slime in the wall that is stagnant, but has hope. The weather is frosty, and the prisoner can only build a fire using “sticks plucked from the hedge”. This makes it difficult to keep warm, and the frost bites his body keenly. The prisoner is surrounded by “dreary fen” and the window to his cell cannot protect him from the cold weather. His agony has caused Ague that causes him to stare through the window (Anderson732). Barbauld has incorporated different sentence structures in the poem that enhance her writing. This involves a combination of loose, periodic, and balance sentences. The sire sits on a “wicker chair” in “sunniest nook enshrined”. These clauses describe the chair occupied by the sire and comment on his state in an example of a balanced sentence. According to Barbauld, the Frenchmen were not aware of the comfort provided by a good coal fire (Barbauld, 76). The writer has used a loose sentence to describe the ignorance of the Frenchmen by placing the main clause at the end. They are used to sulfur as a supply of heat as an alternative of the hearth that had coal fire and functioned as a socialization arena. The hearth has been described as a small world that has to be protected from invasion from the Frenchmen. Barbauld uses a periodic sentence to exclaim on the importance of protecting the fireplace. These sentences contain the main clause and supportive clauses. The poet exclaims “this is my world” and is willing to bleed in order to protect the hearth. The choice of words and the vocabulary used give the poem a satirical tone. The diction used to describe the solitude man depicts someone deep in thoughts. He is unaware of his solitary musings to his loneliness and deep thoughts. The poet has used formal words to describe the cottage of the sire, the cell of the prisoner, and the ample furniture possess by the wealthy. The word choice creates a society that is stratified and has class injustices. Informal words such as thy have also been used to give the poem an ancient flavor. These words were common in the eighteenth century and have been used possessively. Irony, sarcasm, and ridicule give the poem a satirical tone. The fire is described to be enjoying the musings from the lone man due to its fierceness. The warmth from the fire penetrates the body of the old man and thaws the ice from fourscore years to bring the youthful memories back. Eighteen Hundred and Eleven The poem is a prophesy set under the imagination of the crushing of Britain by Napoleon and the rise of America. The poem setting was the period when Britain was in war with France and America and it aimed at urging the leaders to stop the war. Britain had participated in the Napoleonic wars for a decade and was on the brink of losing (Gottlieb, 328). Barbauld presented the political leaders with the satirical poem to urge them that the Britain Empire was waning, and the Americans were waxing. America would take over Britain’s wealth and fame, and Britain would become an empty ruin, “ruin, as with an earthquake shock, is here: thy baseless wealth dissolves in air away”. The decline of the British Empire was attributed to its participation in the Napoleonic war, and America would become a world superpower. This prophecy came to pass in the Second World War, and America became the strongest empire in the world. Her pessimistic view of the country was poorly received, and article writers in both liberal and conservative magazines had outrageous comments. The poem is written to persuade the political leaders to stop the war by outlining the effects the war would have on Britain. The opening line talks about the death drums from afar and the storm of war felt by the soldiers and civilians. Britain was participating in the American war of independence and the Napoleonic war with France (Sachs, 306). The Americans would be stronger than the British economically and in the military, and their tourists would visit Britain to view the ruins. These events were happening as the British leaders did nothing to intervene and stop the war. According to her, the economic current has left the shores of Britain and is heading to the west, that is, America. The current political environment would lead to the downfall of Britain and it would take several years to rebuild. Her language use portrays her as a counter-patriot through her criticism to the state by arguing that the current wars bring destruction both at home and abroad. By reflecting on the Napoleonic war and the threat of American war, she criticizes the fact that Britain “feeds the fierce strife of war”. this depicts the consequences of military activities on the continent using vignettes that feature stolen harvests, corpses in the countryside, and widowed mothers. She addresses the perils of war and warns “thou who has shared the guilt must share the woe”. She foresees the coming “evil days” due to war waged by Britain’s colonies by referring to “the tempest blackening in the distant west”. This alludes to the independence war of America and other independences in British colonial territories (Crocco, 91). Her support for the rise of America and France portray her anti-patriotism. Barbauld adds to the threat of war by stating that excessive military adventurism will result to the economic crisis. The poem has an aspect of irony by referring to Britain as “an island queen amidst thy subjects” that can “sport in wars while danger keeps aloof”. The flatter appears in the association between Britain’s wealth and security and her ability to rule the waves. Barbauld explains that the war has endangered the “baseless wealth” which “dissolves in air away”. The war has caused an ironic reversal of power in colonies as the wealth flows from Britain to its western colonies “yes, thou must droop; thy Midas dream is o’er; the golden tide of commerce leaves thy shore”. By putting emphasis on “enfeebling luxury and ghastly want” she contrasts the poverty of the British Empire to the spoils it would bring. Irony is also present when she contrasts of the technological wonders of “summer ices” and “winter roses” enjoyed by the high officials to the “mass of misery” of impoverished commoners. Arts, science, and wealth sustain and destroy civilization by spurring it on the dead empire (Crocco, 91). Although Barbauld criticizes the British Empire, she has included a colonial aspect by stating that British civilization will remain on the colonies even after the fall of the empire (Levine, 178). She elaborates a celebration of the least violent cultural imperialism. Islamic culture is characterized as moribund by viewing the Ottoman Empire and Islam as a “dim cold crescent”. She goes ahead to describe colonial India as a vast wasteland of ruins. The faded glory of the Middle East is contrasted with British civilization, whose legacy will uplift the Americans through science, art, and law even after Britain is ruined. The light streams leaving Britain for the west will enlighten Americans from northern Niagara Falls to the Platan’s tent-like shade in the southern tropics. This gives the poem a colonial effect that will be felt all over the world due to the civilization emanating from Britain. The independence of America and other colonies will not eliminate the technological improvements introduced by Britain. Barbauld distances the reality of colonization from the military violence in the Napoleonic wars. She portrays the indigenous people in the colonies as students willing to study the British culture. Barbauld creates an imagination of the pilgrimages young Americans would take to visit British Isles “with duteous zeal their pilgrimage shall take”. This equates the colonial relationship to the process of education, maturity, and refinement. The pilgrimage symbolizes the great tours undertaken by British scholars and aristocrats. In her apocalyptic future, Britain’s glory has faded, but the western colonies have mimicked her culture. The mimicry contains the traces of the vanished “man of feeling” and is being sought by the pilgrim. The pilgrim mimics the man of feeling by visiting the ruins of London and sublime reveries of the Lake District. Barbauld predicts that the ruins of London will become a new chapter of western civilization for its former colonies. Barbauld allegorizes development as a westward travelling muse carrying the British glory over the Appalachian hills. Britain has extended to nations far away, and Barbauld has explained how cultural imperialism has led to the maturity of the seedlings. The colonialism serves as a vehicle that progresses westward migration. Barbauld uses ruins as a motif for a fallen empire. These historical features form a contemporary historical reference of empires that had collapsed. A genius rises from these ruins and begins narrating a tale of the rise of civilizations. Her tale of development leads from primitivism to modern refinement constant with the enlightenment of the western colonies. The civilization, however, is the ruins of an empire and not modern capitalism. She refers to the genius that forsakes the favored shore and hates what he loved before. The empires fall to dust, and the arts decay and the glory shifts to wasted realms of far regions (Crocco, 92). Barbauld uses parabolic cycles of the rise and fall of ancient empires as the fall of one empire quickens the rise of another. Through the westward progress of the genius, Barbauld traces the east to west establishment of ancient empires. The fall of Babylon led to the rise of Egypt; Persia rose as Egypt fell; Greece rose as Persia fell; Greece fell as Carthage and Carthage fell as Rome rose. The fall of Rome occurred as the empires of Norse, Baltic, Celtic, and Gothic rose. The British Empire must fall so that the American empire can rise as depicted by the parabolic cycle. The pilgrimage motif is a legitimate claim to the previous claim of power and the ascension of the American empire. Barbauld uses this cycle to express the differences between the eastern and western empires in terms of civilization and economic supremacy. Language used in a poem helps the reader form an interpretation of the real world and create rhythm for the poem. The author has used archaic words such as thou, thy, and thine to refer to the country and give the poem an old-fashioned flavor. Thou must droop because thy Midas dream is over means that the country must realize that the former glory is fading. Thine has been used to show ownership of the harvests, state laws, and bright stars in Britain (Gottlieb, 330). The country is portrayed as a widow, and her sons are perishing in foreign countries and will not hold her hands again to comfort her. The author has used formal words in the poem to address the political leaders and warn them of the impending dangers of the war. The poem prophesies about the future fall of Britain and the social and economic effects that would come due to the lost glory. The author has used rhyming words such as sleeps, weeps, tower, power, and so forth to create rhythm in the poem and give the poem a musical effect. Personification has also been used to give non-living creatures human characteristics. “The spirit walks over the peopled earth” gives the spirit the human ability to walk. “No force arrests his foot” gives force the human ability to arrest the feet of the spirit. This indicates that Britain regarded itself superior to all other nations in the world and no other country would interfere with its activities. The country is portrayed as a woman who has been dreaming, but the dream is coming to an end. She has sent her sons away to foreign countries to fight on her behalf. Most of them perish in the war, and they do not comfort her after she is widowed. The sound of drums of death in the battle field is loud, but the country bends her ear and feeds the strife with hope and fear. This illustrates the stubbornness and superiority of the country and her unwillingness to end the war. The ruin that was supposed to happen is likened to the destruction caused by an earthquake. This shows that the fall of Britain would take long to reverse, and its effects would be catastrophic. The country would suffer a massive blow in its economy and the military. The author has used periodic, loose, and balanced sentences in the poem. Britain was more powerful than most countries and had colonized America and fought France. An example of a periodic sentence is “yes, thou must droop; thy Midas dream is o’er”. The British dream of superiority was coming to an end due to the American independence war, and Britain was losing the war to France. Loose sentences have the main point at the beginning followed by several other supportive clauses. The country had lost several soldiers in the war and had lost its beauty (Toner, 176). The phrase “Fruitful in vain, the matron counts with pride” expresses the losses experienced by Britain due to its participation in several wars. The British glory was fading fast, and the author uses balanced sentences to express the effect of the rising America. The sentence “shall fade one laurel, or one note expire” illustrates that the British Empire was collapsing at a high rate, and it would be overshadowed by America. The British citizens continued with their hard work in the farms despite the country’s falling supremacy. The author has used different vocabulary or diction to contradict the hard work of the Britons despite the fading British glory (Toner, 175). The country had reaps of harvest, orange blossoms, the hills were covered with olives, and the farms were covered with corn. The author considers the country to be bounteous in vain since the solders have scanty supplies and the war was consuming most of the resources. The country is also fruitful in vain due to the death of soldiers in the battle field. Her sons had died in the war, and none was left to comfort her. The waning empire had deprived Britain of her beauty and her soldiers remained strewn in the foreign lands. Britain remained brave in vain since it was losing the Napoleonic war and the Americans were starting their second independence war. Connotation refers to the use of common words to convey a specific meaning apart from the dictionary definition. After independence, American youths would undertake a pilgrimage and visit Britain as tourists to view her ruins. Pilgrimage refers to a religious journey to a holy place, but the Americans would undertake a pilgrimage to tour the fallen empire. The pilgrims would travel from America to view the country that once ruled the world. London is a major city in Britain and shelters most trading activities in the country. The merchants are regarded as kings due to their importance in strengthening the trading activities of the city. The fall of the city will drive the floods of people and the kings away who once participated in commerce and enjoyed a large amount of wealth. These kings and the people would be scattered when London lost its glory. Conclusion Anna Barbauld has participated in the political scene, which was uncommon for women during her time. Britain was the strongest empire at the time and participated in colonial independence wars, Napoleonic wars, and the French revolution. The British Empire was waning, and the civilization was spreading to the eastern countries. In the First fire, the French revolution has endangered the British Empire that has social stratification. Eighteen Hundred and Eleven talks about the effects of Britain’s participation in different wars and colonization. Barbauld’s poems are satirical and criticize the political leadership in Britain. Her language has enhanced her writing by creating imagery, sarcasm, and rhythm. Her writing incorporates both formal and informal words that give the poems different flavors. Works Cited Anderson, John. The First Fire: Barbauld Rewrites the Greater Romantic Lyric. 1994. 17.9. 2012 http://www.jstor.org The first fire is the greatest romantic poem of the time. Anderson talks about the classes portrayed in the society. The fireplace was highly regarded and served as a socialization place, and had to be protected at all cost. The rich have expensive furniture and a wealthy lifestyle, while the poor face hunger and live in cottages. Barbauld, Anna , Elizabeth Kraft, and William McCarthy. Selected Poetry and Prose. Peterborough, Ont: Broadview Press, 2002. Print The British government was participating in the Napoleonic war and was almost being defeated. This would lead to the fall of the British Empire and the French revolution would threaten the regional supremacy of Britain. Western colonies were becoming independent and Britain would cease to be the strongest country in the world. The writers have discussed the language effects created by the choice of words and the diction used by Barbauld. Burwick, Frederick, Nancy M. Goslee, and Diane L. Hoeveler. The Encyclopedia of Romantic Literature. Chichester, West Sussex England: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. Print. The lyric of The First Fire creates romanticism in the poem and the allegory created by the poet seems to be the source of the loneliness at the center of the poem. Crocco, Fransesco. The colonial subtext of Anna Letitia Barbauld’s Eighteen Hundred and Eleven. Wordsworth circle, 41.2 (2010): 91-94. The poem has a colonial setting since Britain had colonized several countries including America. The civilization introduced by colonialism would remain in her colonies even after the fall of the empire. Gottlieb, Evan. Fighting words: representing the Napoleonic wars in the poetry of Hemas and Barbauld. European romantic review, 20.3 (2009): 327-343. The Napoleonic wars had consumed a lot of British resources and the soldiers were spread in several battle fields. France was winning the war and several British soldiers would not return home to their mothers and wives. Hadley, Karen. “The Wealth of Nations” OR “the Happiness of Nations”? Barbauld’s Malthusian critique in Eighteen Hundred and Eleven. CLA journal, 45.1 (2001): 87-96. Britain is a powerful and wealthy country compared to America and France. However, the economic supremacy is about to shift from Britain to America and London would cease being the commerce city. Janowitz, Anne. Women Romantic Poets: Anna Barbauld and Mary Robinson. Tavistock: Northcote House, 2004. Print. Anna Barbauld was one of the most influential and eloquent female writer. The language used creates satire and ridicules the political governance in Britain. Britain is portrayed as an island that can survive any war, but her glory is fading. Levine, William. The Eighteenthe-century Jeremiad and Progress-piece Traditions in Anna Barbauld’s Eighteen Hundred and Eleven. Women’s writing, 12.2 (2005): 177-186. Barbauld uses the progressive genre to enlighten the political leaders about the dangers of the Napoleonic and independence wars. The article has created an enlightenment model of progress to witness the fall of Britain. McCarthy, William. Anna Letitia Barbauld: Voice of the Enlightenment. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins university press, 2008. Print. The author talks about Barbauld’s contribution to the world of romanticism and her enlightenment for the women. The society was dominated by men and the political and the literal arenas had few women. Barbauld uses her Poetry to urge women to rise and fight for their feminism. Perkins, David. English Romantic Writers. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1995. Print. Perkins talks about the impact of the French revolution, governance, gender and the status of women. The First Fire talks about the hearth that forms a small world among the British and has to be protected. This is in view of the French revolution that was threatening the civilization and military supremacy of Britain. Sachs, Jonathan. The time of Decline. European romantic Review, 22.3 (2011): 305-312. The poet has predicted the future ruin of Britain and predicted its future economic decline and the rise of America. The decline has a different meaning due to the process of change occurring in Britain and around the world. Toner, Anne. Anna Barbauld on Fictional Form in the British Novelists (1810). Eighteen century Fiction, 24.2 (2011): 171-193. The author analysis the fiction writing by Barbauld that criticizes and enlightens the British people against male dominance, and poor political governance. Read More