Song for the Luddites
Song for the Luddites - fact Summary
Byron Backed the Luddites
A brief, militant song endorsing the Luddite uprising and violent resistance to industrial despotism. Byron adopts the voice of insurgent workers who invoke Liberty and the emblematic "King Ludd," promising to replace tools with weapons and topple their oppressors. The poem frames machine-breaking as a patriotic, regenerative act that will renew liberty through force, equating revolt with a sacrificial, cleansing renewal of the social order.
Read Complete AnalysesI. As the Liberty lads o’er the sea Bought their freedom, and cheaply, with blood, So we, boys, we Will die fighting, or live free, And down with all kings but King Ludd! II. When the web that we weave is complete, And the shuttle exchanged for the sword, We will fling the winding sheet O’er the despot at our feet, And dye it deep in the gore he has pour’d. III. Though black as his heart its hue, Since his veins are corrupted to mud, Yet this is the dew Which the tree shall renew Of Liberty, planted by Ludd!
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