{"id":21,"date":"2013-05-25T22:39:00","date_gmt":"2013-05-25T21:39:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2023-11-13T04:42:28","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T04:42:28","slug":"ebenezer-elliot-the-corn-law-rhymer-poet-of-the-poor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsrainbow.com\/sonnetsonpoets\/2013\/05\/25\/ebenezer-elliot-the-corn-law-rhymer-poet-of-the-poor\/","title":{"rendered":"Ebenezer Elliot (The Corn Law Rhymer & Poet of the Poor)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ebenezer Elliot<\/b>.
\n(Sonnets I. & II., first published Dec. 15th 1849, were written on<\/i><\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/i><\/div>\n

\nhearing of the Death of my esteemed Literary Correspondent, who I<\/i>
\nwas to have visited in his \u201cDen,\u201d as he humorously called his retired<\/i>
\nabode at Hargitt Hill. Born at Masborough, March 17th, 1781; resided<\/i>
\nfor the greater part of his long and useful Life at Sheffield; and Died<\/i>
\nat Hargitt Hill, near Great Houghton, Dec. 1st, 1849.)<\/i><\/p>\n

I
\nAnd he is dead!\u2014the Bard who sweetly sung,
\nIn stirring strains, the wrongs of bread-tax\u2019d men;
\nAnd for the rights of Labour used his pen
\nUnceasingly. Few lyres have louder rung
\nFor equal rights, and equal laws for all: 5
\nA million hearts obey\u2019d his patriot-call,
\nA million tongues have echoed all its strains;
\nAnd whilst one wrong remains to be redress\u2019d,
\nWhilst man by fellow-man is still oppress\u2019d,
\nYea, whilst one word of SHAKSPEAR\u2019s tongue remains, 10
\nWill ELLIOT be adored. Much was he bless\u2019d
\n<\/a>With that calm spirit which on hills and plains,
\nBy brooks, in woods, field-paths, or rustic lanes,
\nFrom Mammon\u2019s gyves the Poet\u2019s soul unchains.<\/p>\n

II
\nBut he is dead\u2014all of him that can die! 15
\nFor the true poet liveth on for aye:
\nOf ELLIOT but the body can decay;
\nHis well-tried soul has now soar\u2019d up on high.
\nTo swell the choir of angel-harmony,
\nAnd yet his spirit will on earth remain, 20
\nAnd down the stream of Time his songs be borne,
\nTo cheer the weak, to solace those in pain,
\nTo teach the patriot he ne\u2019er toils in vain,
\nThough tyrants for a time may bind the world!
\nFor Freedom will her long-lost rights regain, 25
\nAnd Tyranny to ruin swift be furl\u2019d.
\nClass-legislator, partial magistrate,
\nYe were the objects of his sternest hate.<\/p>\n

III
\nThy who are truest heroes in the strife
\nFor Liberty, are the most meek of men 30
\nWhen peace prevails: and ELLIOT\u2019s powerful pen
\nLoves to depict all gentle scenes of life,
\nAnd soothe the soul as much as rouse its ire.
\nDearly he doted on wildflowers and birds;
\nDeftly his well-skill\u2019d hand swept the sweet chords, 35
\nBringing true music from his noble lyre,
\nE\u2019en when the hand of Death had gripp\u2019d him hard,
\nAnd his brave life was near upon its close
\nOn earth for ever, at his window rose
\nThe robin\u2019s much-loved song; \u2019t was then the Bard 40
\nTrill\u2019d his last lay, by loving hand writ down,
\nAnd in a little time his soul to heaven had flown.<\/p>\n

George Markham Tweddell<\/b>
\n
<\/b>
\nThe excellent Ebenezer Elliott site well worth a visit with biography and his poems http:\/\/www.judandk.force9.co.uk\/elly.htm<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

They say of Tweddell’s tribute
\n“Tweddell sums up the Corn Law Rhymer very well in the first two sonnets which make an excellent tribute to the Rabble’s Poet. The third sonnet refers to the touching poem about a robin which Elliott composed on his death bed: “Last Lines” was dictated to his daughter, Fanny Ann<\/i>.”<\/p>\n

And also a page about the links between Ebenezer Elliott<\/b> ( The Corn Law Rhymer & Poet of the Poor)<\/i> and George Markham Tweddell<\/b>. http:\/\/www.judandk.force9.co.uk\/Tweddell.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n“A further verse was written by George Tweddell about Elliott or more accurately about one of his poems. One of Elliott’s most successful poems is “To The Bramble Flower,” a simple nature poem, well observed but free from political ideas. Tweddell knew Elliott’s poem & clearly admired it since he wrote a poem about the bramble inspired by the Corn Law Rhymer’s verses. Both are shown below to aid comparison.”<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n

To The Bramble Flower” by Ebenezer Elliott<\/b><\/p>\n

\n
<\/b><\/div>\n
\n
\nThy fruit full-well the schoolboy knows, <\/div>\n
\n     Wild bramble of the brake! <\/div>\n
\n  So, put thou forth thy small white rose; <\/div>\n
\n     I love it for his sake. <\/div>\n
\n  Though woodbines flaunt and roses glow <\/div>\n
\n      O’er all the fragrant bowers, <\/div>\n
\n  Thou needst not be ashamed to show <\/div>\n
\n      Thy satin-threaded flowers; <\/div>\n
\n   For dull the eye, the heart is dull, <\/div>\n
\n      That cannot feel how fair, <\/div>\n
\n   Amid all beauty beautiful, <\/div>\n
\n       Thy tender blossoms are!<\/div>\n
\n   How delicate thy gauzy frill! <\/div>\n
\n       How rich thy branchy stem! <\/div>\n
\n   How soft thy voice, when woods are still, <\/div>\n
\n       And thou sing’st hymns to them; <\/div>\n
\n   While silent showers are falling slow <\/div>\n
\n      And, ‘mid the general hush, <\/div>\n
\n   A sweet air lifts the little bough, <\/div>\n
\n      Lone whispering through the bush! <\/div>\n
\n   The primrose to the grave is gone; <\/div>\n
\n      The hawthorn flower is dead; <\/div>\n
\n   The violet by the moss’d grey stone <\/div>\n
\n      Hath laid her weary head; <\/div>\n
\n   But thou, wild bramble! back dost bring, <\/div>\n
\n      In all their beauteous power, <\/div>\n
\n   The fresh green days of life’s fair spring, <\/div>\n
\n      And boyhood’s blossomy hour. <\/div>\n
\n   Scorn’d bramble of the brake! once more <\/div>\n
\n      Thou bid’st me be a boy, <\/div>\n
\n   To gad with thee the woodlands o’er, <\/div>\n
\n      In freedom and in joy.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n………………………….<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nThe Bramble –  by  George Markham Tweddell<\/b><\/div>\n

Brave Elliott loved “thy satin-threaded flowers,”
\nDear Bramble! All who appreciate those things
\nOf beauty which Nature as largess flings
\nSo freely over valleys, plains, and moors,
\nMust share the Corn Law Rhymer’s healthy love.
\nAnd who in Autumn does not like to taste
\nThy pleasant Dewberries? There is no waste
\nThroughout the universe; for all things move
\nIn strict obedience to the unchanging laws
\nWisely laid down by Him who cannot err;
\nAnd He alone is His true worshipper
\nWho studies to obey them. The Great First Cause
\nAdorns our very brakes with fruit and flowers, –
\nAs if to teach us all that happiness may be ours.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\nMore on Tweddell and Ebenezer Elliott here http:\/\/georgemarkhamtweddell.blogspot.co.uk\/2012\/11\/ebenezer-elliott-and-george-markham.html<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

* During my various visits to the Land of Shakspere, I fully satisfied
\nmyself, by frequent inquiries among the people, that the \u201cDewberries\u201d
\nmentioned by our great Bard, were not Gooseberries, as erroneously
\nstated by some of the Commentators, but really the fruit of the Bramble.
\nI got Warwickshire agricultural labourers, about Stratford-on-Avon, to
\ngather for me sprays of what they call \u201cDewberries\u201d. Without telling
\nthem what I believed them to be, and the briars, leaves, flowers, and
\nfruit, which they collected for me, were always those of the Bramble.
\n[Sonnets on Trees and Flowers, pp. 14-15.] Also published in Texas
\nMasonic Journal, Sept., 1886. Voice of Masonry, Chicago, Illinois,
\nU.S., Feb., 1888 (without Note)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ebenezer Elliot. (Sonnets I. & II., first published Dec. 15th 1849, were written on hearing of the Death of my esteemed Literary Correspondent, who I was to have visited in his \u201cDen,\u201d as he humorously called his retired abode at Hargitt Hill. Born at Masborough, March 17th, 1781; resided for the greater part of his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":70,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsrainbow.com\/sonnetsonpoets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsrainbow.com\/sonnetsonpoets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsrainbow.com\/sonnetsonpoets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsrainbow.com\/sonnetsonpoets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsrainbow.com\/sonnetsonpoets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsrainbow.com\/sonnetsonpoets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsrainbow.com\/sonnetsonpoets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions\/72"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsrainbow.com\/sonnetsonpoets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsrainbow.com\/sonnetsonpoets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsrainbow.com\/sonnetsonpoets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsrainbow.com\/sonnetsonpoets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}