“Let a great Assembly be”: Percy Shelley's “The Mask of Anarchy” and the Organization of Labor in New York City, 1910–30

Abstract

By documenting Percy Bysshe Shelley's place in American labor history during the early twentieth century, this essay reevaluates the perennial question of the poet's credibility in socio-political affairs. It examines the reception history of “The Mask of Anarchy” both among academics and among workers, and concentrates on the writings of the union activist, Pauline Newman, and the literature curriculum of the Workers' University, the educational division of the International Ladies' Garments Workers' Union, in New York City. Because the American labor movement adopted the language of “The Mask of Anarchy,” it is difficult to fathom the full extent to which Shelley's poem inspired unionization. What is clear, however, is that 100 years after its composition, labor activists enthusiastically acknowledged that “The Mask of Anarchy” was instrumental in their success.

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