After Blenheim

After Blenheim

"After Blenheim" is an anti-war poem written by English Romantic poet laureate Robert Southey in 1796. The poem is set at the site of the Battle of Blenheim (1704), with the questions of small children about a skull one of them has found. An old man tells two small children of burned homes, civilian casualties, and rotting corpses, while repeatedly calling it "a famous victory".

Characters

Old Kaspar, whose father lived nearby the battlefield; Wilhelmine was his granddaughter; and Peterkin was her brother ( Old Kaspar's grandson ).

Story

Old Kaspar has finished his work and was sitting in the sun in front of the cottage, watching his little granddaughter at play. Peterkin, his grandson, has been rolling a hard round object he found near the stream. He brings it to the old man, who explains " 'Tis some poor fellow's skull," said he (line 17–18). He admits that he often finds them while ploughing in the garden (line 22–18). The children anticipate a story—"And little Wilhelmine looks up/with wonder-waiting eyes" (ln 26–27). Kaspar explains to the children the story of the battle, that the Duke of Marlborough routed the French, although he admits he never understood the reason for the war himself.

He also mentions that his father had a cottage by the rivulet—"My father lived at Blenheim then"—where Peterkin found the skull. The soldiers burned it to the ground, and his father and mother had fled, with their child. The following verse refers to a childing mother, or a mother with child (ln 45–46) and many of them died with their newborns, possibly alluding to his own mother.

Thousands of corpses lay rotting in the fields, but he shrugs it off, as part of the cost of war (ln 53—54). Wilhelmine says it was a wicked thing, but he contradicts her, no, he says, it was a great victory.

Criticism

While Southey's verse, After Blenheim, is considered by some an anti-war poem, arguably Southey was not himself anti-war: Byron himself considered Southey a puzzle: on the one hand, he denigrated the English victory at Blenheim, but praised the Battle of Waterloo in The Poet's Pilgrimage to Waterloo, a popular poem that generated £215 in two months of publication.

It is one of Southey's most famous poems. The internal repetition of but 'twas a famous victory juxtaposed with the initial five lines of each stanza, establish that the narrator does not know why the battle was fought, why thousands died, why his father's cottage was burned. The often-quoted closing lines are:

“

"But what good came of it at last?"     Quoth little Peterkin. "Why that I cannot tell," said he,     "But 'twas a famous victory."

”

After Blenheim, also called Battle of Blenheim, was written during Southey's Jacobin years (roughly 1790 – 1800). In a letter to Charles Collins, he wrote of traveling throughWoodstock in the summer of 1793, and of refusing to even turn his head to look at the walls of the palace, built by Marlborough, and named for the battle. Southey wrote the poem, sometimes considered by critics as the most celebrated of British anti-war poems, while living at Westbury with his mother and his cousin (Peggy) in a renovated ale-house, which he shared also with a "great carroty cat". It appeared in publication with several others, in the category of Ballads and metrical tales,^[6] with the revenge tale of Lord William, and the narrative Queen Oracca.

After thousands of casualties, and vast civilian destruction, the battle ended. The English and Habsburg victory insured that Vienna would not be captured by the French. It was arguably among the most important battles of the 18th century, and the turning point of the War of the Spanish Succession.

By 1820 Southey had changed his mind about the battle, describing it as the"greatest victory which had ever done honour to British arms". He calculated that had the battle not been won, the dominance of France may have overset the Protestant Succession in Britain.

After Blenheim : About the poem

‘After Blenheim’ by Robert Southey is an anti-war poem that centres around one of the major battles of eighteenth century – the Battle of Blenheim. Written in 1796 in the form of a ballad, it offers deep insights on war and its consequences. The 1704 War of Spanish Succession, in which a coalition of forces including the English, defeated the Franco-Bavarian army on the land of Blenheim, a small village in Southern Germany, supplies its ingredients.

Through a conversation between an old farmer, Kaspar and his grandchildren, Wilhelmine and Peterkin the poet gradually reveals the scene of a former battlefield. One of the kids has found something ‘large and round’ which his grandfather explains is a skull, one of many to be found nearby. Similar instances run through the poem to support the main ideas – tragic end of war & the vulnerability of human life. The poemAfter Blenheim makes us ponder on the purpose and result of a war and even questions its validity.

The war caused huge devastation and thousands of casualties. But Old Kaspar seems to have an unconcerned attitude towards this as he claims that ‘it was a famous victory’ and ‘things like that must be’. His gruesome descriptions, followed by his casual sayings create an effect of irony. It is ironic that it was a great war but no one knows why.

After Blenheim: Form and Style

This ballad is separated into 11 equal verses. The poet has followed the rhyming scheme abcbdd  in all the stanzas except the second one. The style used by the poet is aconversation between two people of very different ages – the younger age representing vigor, restlessness and curiosity whereas the old age depicts experience, knowledge and passivity.

Iambic tetrameter (four iambic feet) and iambic trimeter (three iambic feet) lines alternate throughout the poem with the last two lines in each stanza being in tetrameter. This is a typical characteristic of a ballad.

Old KAS | par’s WORK | was DONE, (Iambic Trimeter)

And HE | be FORE | his COT | tage DOOR (Iambic Tetrameter)

Was SIT | ting IN | the SUN, (Iambic Trimeter)

In several stanzas of After Blenheim, Southey uses alliteration to promote rhyme and euphony. Here are some perfect examples.

Now tell us what ’twas all about,

With wonder-waiting eyes;

They say it was a shocking sight

Southey’s use of archaic speeches (Nay… nay… my little girl, quoth he) and apostrophe by removing a silent vowel (as in ’twas) helps to create an atmosphere of antiquity and makes the ballad more entertaining.

A recurring line comes at the end of some stanzas: “But ‘twas a famous victory.” And such use of repeatition is another prominent feature of a ballad. Old Kaspar continuously repeats this sentence as this is all he knows about the war. But this is certainly not what the poem is saying. Rather, Southey uses this phrase to emphasize the exact opposite – that it wasn’t really a great victory; war can never be ‘great’. It’s a highly effective way of making his point.

After Blenheim by Southey: Explanation by stanza

It was a summer evening,
Old Kaspar’s work was done,
And he before his cottage door
Was sitting in the sun,
And by him sported on the green
His little grandchild Wilhelmine.

The poem begins by picturizing a vivid scene of a summer evening. It is the time when most people return from work. The days are long and tiring in summers, and the sun sets late in the evening. An elderly farmer named Kaspar sits in front of his cottage watching his grandchildren Wilhelmine and Peterkin at play on the lush green field.

She saw her brother Peterkin
Roll something large and round,
Which he beside the rivulet
In playing there had found;
He came to ask what he had found,
That was so large, and smooth, and round.

As Wilhelmine was playing, she saw her brother Peterkin rolling something ‘large, smooth and round’ which he had found beside the river. Meanwhile Kaspar was sitting around observing his actions. Out of curiosity, Peterkin takes that ‘something’ to his grandfather, wanting to know about it.

That was so large, and smooth, and round.
Old Kaspar took it from the boy,
Who stood expectant by;
And then the old man shook his head,
And, with a natural sigh —
“Tis some poor fellow’s skull,” said he,
“Who fell in the great victory.

The elderly Kaspar took that round thing from the boy, who was left in anticipation. After a brief look at it, the old man shook his head with a sigh and found it to be a skull of some ‘poor fellow’ which refers to a soldier who had died in the war – in the Battle of Blenheim – ‘in the great victory’.

“I find them in the garden,
For there’s many here about;
And often when I go to plough,
The ploughshare turns them out.
For many thousand men,” said he,
“Were slain in that great victory.”

The Battle of Blenheim lead to the death of thousands of soldiers whose corpses lie deep scattered in the field. Further, Kaspar relates how he had found many such objects while plowing the fields. The ‘great victory’ refers to the triumph in the battle which also happens to be an example of sheer patriotism. Kaspar believed that the soldiers sacrificed their life for the country and did not die in vain. Their death served the purpose of victory in the battle.

“Now tell us what ’twas all about,”
Young Peterkin, he cries;
And little Wilhelmine looks up
With wonder-waiting eyes;
“Now tell us all about the war,
And what they fought each other for.”

Hearing about the battle, the children were restless to know more about it. For them the battle seemed to bring thrill and excitement along with certain amazement. Little Wilhelmine was so curious to know about the war and the reason behind it that it reflected in her eyes gleaming for a wonder to unfold. The poet reflects upon the zeal and enthusiasm associated with young age. The ability to question things is a peculiar quality of kids which fades away with growing age.

“It was the English,” Kaspar cried,
“Who put the French to rout;
But what they fought each other for,
I could not well make out;
But everybody said,” quoth he,
“That ’twas a famous victory.”

History books tell us that the British defeated the Franco-Bavarian army in the Battle of Blenheim. Kaspar tries to answer the questions posed by his grandchildren by telling them this piece of information. The interesting point to note here is – he doesn’t know the reason behind the war. In fact, he doesn’t try to find it! He remembers what everybody told him – the victory was famous, and he repeated it to himself time and again and put some belief in the words.

“My father lived at Blenheim then,
Yon little stream hard by;
They burnt his dwelling to the ground,
And he was forced to fly;
So with his wife and child he fled,
Nor had he where to rest his head.”

At this juncture of the poem ‘After Blenheim’, Kaspar recollects from the past, some of the scenarios of the war. He begins by remembering his father who lived in a small village of Blenheim near a river. The French wrecked havoc in the village and burnt homes of several innocent people to the ground. Consequently, the villagers were forced to migrate in search for shelter. The young Kaspar along with his parents fled to a different place but could not find a home because of the impending war. They had to roam from one place to another seeking rest.

“With fire and sword the country round
Was wasted far and wide,
And many a childing mother then,
And new-born baby died;
But things like that, you know, must be
At every famous victory.

In the above stanza of ‘After Blenheim’, the poet describes the severity of battle. ‘Fire’ and ‘sword’ are symbols of man’s cruelty for man. They represent destruction, death and horror. ‘Wasted’ is an emotionally charged word. It conjures an image of a land raped of any use, purpose and dignity. It shows both the futility of war and its power to destroy. The image of mother and baby killed in war here makes us see battle as catastrophic of both present and future. It powerfully evokes the death of innocence.

Whether he believes it or not, Kaspar has resigned to the inevitability of death. That’s why he takes those killings casually and thinks it ‘must be’ there at every such victory. ‘Famous victory’ is intentionally repeated by the poet to create a sense of irony.

“They say it was a shocking sight
After the field was won;
For many thousand bodies here
Lay rotting in the sun;
But things like that, you know, must be
After a famous victory.”

The poet goes on to depict the terror of war. When the battle was over, thousands of dead bodies of soldiers lay rotting in the field. There are some sound effects in this stanza helped by the assonance of ‘shocking’ and ‘rotting’ and the alliteration in the first line. Combined, they give greater resonance to the horrendous image of death. The scene of ‘rotting’ reduces dead men to carrion. An emotive, vivid word, it shows how war not only takes away life but also dignity and humanity.

“Great praise the Duke of Marlbro’ won,
And our good Prince Eugene.”
“Why, ’twas a very wicked thing!”
Said little Wilhelmine.
“Nay… nay… my little girl,” quoth he,
“It was a famous victory.

The Duke of Marlbro & Prince Eugene representing Britain won the battle which lasted for days. Here Kaspar praises the Duke and the Prince for having defeated the French and bringing glories to the nation.

A confused Wilhelmine exclaimed that it (war) was a ‘wicked’ thing and wondered how her grandpa could sing praises of such a bloody war. Again, Kaspar quotes that it was a ‘famous victory’. It is obvious that the old man is hiding all the destruction and agony caused by the war by repeating these two words. He seems to be afraid of breaking the romantic ideals of war so carefully brought up in his mind.

“And everybody praised the Duke
Who this great fight did win.”
“But what good came of it at last?”
Quoth little Peterkin.
“Why that I cannot tell,” said he,
“But ’twas a famous victory.”

Victory has many fathers but defeat is an orphan. Staying true to these words, many people praised the Duke for having won the war and Kaspar recalls this with some delight. Peterkin then anticipated on the very purpose of war and what it led to. What good did it do? But the old man did not have any answers to such questions. All he knew was that it was a famous victory.

The poet again repeats the line “But ’twas a famous victory”. This line is an epitome of irony. The war was fought over a trivial dispute but costed lives of thousands and thousands of soldiers. The only thing inevitable in a war is destruction of life and property. Victory cannot bring back all the lives which were lost during the war. Hence, the poet questions the purpose and need of war. Thus the poem ‘After Blenheim’ successfully conveys his message – war is futile and should be avoided.

War of the Spanish Succession

The War of the Spanish Succession (1702–1714) was a major European conflict of the early 18th century, triggered by the death in 1700 of the last Habsburg King of Spain, the infirm and childless Charles II. Charles II had ruled over a vast globalempire, and the question of who would succeed him had long troubled the governments of Europe. Attempts to solve the problem by peacefully partitioning the empire among the eligible candidates from the royal houses of France (Bourbon), Austria (Habsburg), and Bavaria (Wittelsbach) ultimately failed, and on his deathbed Charles II fixed the entire Spanish inheritance on his grandnephew Philip, Duke of Anjou, the second-eldest grandson of King Louis XIV of France. With Philip ruling in Spain, Louis XIV would secure great advantages for his dynasty, but some statesmen regarded a dominant House of Bourbon as a threat to European stability, jeopardising the balance of power.

To counter Louis XIV's growing dominance, England, the Dutch Republic, and Austria – together with their allies in the Holy Roman Empire – re-formed the 1680s Grand Alliance (1701) and supported Emperor Leopold I's claim to the whole Spanish inheritance for his second son, Archduke Charles.

The English, the Dutch and the Austrians formally declared war in May 1702. By 1708, the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy had secured victory in the Spanish Netherlands and in Italy, and had defeated Louis XIV's ally Bavaria. But Allied unity broke and the Grand Alliance was defeated in Spain. With casualties mounting and aims of the Alliance diverging, the Tories came to power in Great Britain in 1710 and resolved to end the war, ceasing combat operations in 1712. The Dutch, Austrians, and German states fought on to strengthen their own negotiating position, but defeated by Marshal Villars, they had to accept Anglo-French mediation. The Treaty of Utrecht (1713) and the Treaty of Rastatt (1714) ended the conflict by partitioning the Spanish empire. The Austrians received most of Spain's former European realms, while the Duke of Anjou retained peninsular Spain and Spanish America, where, after renouncing his claim to the French succession, he reigned (withone brief interlude) as King Philip V until 1746.

Background

Europe at the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession

In the late 1690s the declining health of King Charles II of Spain brought to a head the problem of his succession, a problem which had underlain much of European diplomacy for several decades. By the late 17th century Spain was no longer ahegemonic power in Europe, but the Spanish Empire – essentially a vastconfederation that covered the globe, which Spaniards usually referred to as a "Monarchy" – remained resilient. Besides Spain, Charles II's other European realms comprised the Balearic Islands, the Spanish Netherlands, Milan, Sicily, Naples,Sardinia, Finale and the State of Presidi on the Tuscan coast; overseas realms included the Philippines, the Spanish West Indies, Florida, and much of North and South America and several North African cities. The empire was in decline, but remained the largest of the European overseas empires, and was still active and influential on the European and global stage.

Charles II had become king following the death of his father, Philip IV, in 1665, but he was physically weak and incapable of having children; he was the last male Spanish Habsburg and he had survived longer than anyone had expected. When theTreaty of Ryswick (Rijswijk) brought an end to the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), European statesmen turned their attention to solve the problem of the Spanish Succession before the death of Charles II should actually take place. Ultimately, the main rivals for the Spanish inheritance were the heirs and descendants of the Bourbon King Louis XIV of France, and the Austrian Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, both of whom were sons-in-law to Philip IV of Spain and grandsons of Philip III, and both firmly believed in their claims. However, the inheritance was so vast that its transference would dramatically increase either French or Austrian power which, due to the implied threat of European hegemony, was of the utmost importance to Europe as a whole.

Causes of the war

Unlike the French crown, the Spanish crowns could all be inherited by, or through, a female in default of a male line. The next in line after Charles II, therefore, were his two sisters: Maria Theresa, the elder, and Margaret Theresa, the younger. Maria Theresa had married Louis XIV in 1660 and by him she had a son, Louis, Dauphin of France. If it had been a matter of hereditary rights the Dauphin would have been heir presumptive to the Spanish Monarchy, but Maria Theresa had renounced her claim of succession in return for the payment of a dowry of half a million gold crowns. The testament of her father, Philip IV, reiterated this waiver and bequeathed the reversion of the whole of the Spanish dominions to his younger daughter, Margaret Theresa. However the French, using in part the excuse that the dowry promised Maria Theresa was never paid, insisted that her renunciation was invalid. Nor was it clear whether a princess could waive the rights of her unborn children.

Leopold I married Margaret Theresa in 1666. At her death in 1673 she left one living heir, Maria Antonia, who in 1685 marriedMax Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria. Shortly before her death in 1692, she gave birth to a son, Joseph Ferdinand. When she married, Maria Antonia had formally agreed to waive her rights to the Spanish thrones in favour of Leopold I's sons from his third marriage: the elder Archduke Joseph (b. 1678), who would succeed Leopold I as Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of theAustrian Habsburg lands, and the younger Archduke Charles (b. 1685), who Leopold I promoted as the candidate for the Spanish succession. However, the waiver imposed upon Maria Antonia was questionable and not recognised in Spain where, instead, the Council of State welcomed the prospect of Joseph Ferdinand – a great-grandson of Philip IV and the son of Maria Antonia – inheriting the entire empire. The Bavarian claim also attracted support from the Maritime Powers (England and the Dutch Republic) who, despite guarantees to Leopold I for the Spanish succession in alliance treaties of 1689, recognised that the House of Wittelsbach offered no threat to the balance of power in Europe.

If he chose, Louis XIV could attempt to assert his will on Spain by force of arms, but the Nine Years' War had been an immense drain on France's resources. Moreover, Leopold I's war with the Ottoman Turks in the Balkans was nearing a successful conclusion, and the Emperor would soon be in a position to transfer his energies west and bolster his claim to the full Spanish inheritance. To seek a satisfactory solution and gain support, Louis XIV turned to his long-standing rival William of Orange, who was both Dutch Stadtholder and King of England (as William III). England and the Dutch Republic had their own commercial, strategic and political interests within the Spanish empire, and they were eager to return to peaceful commerce. However, the Maritime Powers were in a weakened state and both had reduced their forces at the conclusion of the Nine Years' War. Louis XIV and William III, therefore, sought to solve the problem of the Spanish inheritance through negotiation, based on the principle of partition (at first without prior reference to the Spanish or Austrian courts), to take effect after the death of Charles II.

Partition treaties

The First Partition Treaty, signed by the Duke of Tallard and the Earl of Portland on 26 September 1698 and ratified on 11 October, allocated Naples and Sicily, the Tuscan ports, Finale, and the Basque province of Guipuzcoa, to the Dauphin of France; Leopold I's second son, Archduke Charles, would receive the Duchy of Milan and its dependencies. However, the bulk of the empire – most of peninsular Spain, the Spanish Netherlands, Sardinia, and the overseas territories – would transfer to the Bavarian prince, Joseph Ferdinand. Under Joseph the Spanish Monarchy would remain independent from either French or Austrian control, but his premature death in February 1699 necessitated the drawing up of a Second Partition Treaty, the preliminary of which was signed between William III and Tallard on 11 June, then later ratified by the States General on 25 March 1700.

Portrait of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (1640–1705). Unknown.

The Spanish Empire was now divided between the three surviving candidates. By this new treaty Archduke Charles would receive most of Spain, the Spanish Netherlands, Sardinia, and the overseas empire. The Dauphin would acquire Gipuzkoa, as well as the rest of Spain's Italian possessions, on the understanding that Milan would be exchanged for the Duchy of Lorraine, which in turn would be incorporated into France.^[15]For Leopold I, however, control of Spain and its colonial empire was less important than Italy, in particular Milan which he regarded as essential for the security of Austria's south-western flank. Although Leopold I and his ministers were willing to accept some sort of partition, they would not agree to a deal that shut the Austrians out of Italy. Leopold I, therefore, opposed the Second Partition Treaty. This was due in part to an adherence to Habsburg dynasticism, but by opposing the division of the Spanish Monarchy the Emperor also hoped to create a favourable impression in Madrid where the idea of partition had been received with consternation.

Charles II King of Spain(1665–1700). Anonymous. His death triggered the War of the Spanish Succession.

Uppermost in the minds of the Spanish ministers was the need to preserve their empire intact and put it in hands powerful enough to guarantee that integrity. The preservation of the whole empire for the next generation of Spaniards was the driving motive in the last months of Charles II's life, but the grandees, led by CardinalPortocarrero, knew that militarily their country was at the mercy of neighbouring France and that Austria, lacking a navy, could not hope to validate its claims. Consequently, Charles II, pressed on his sick-bed by his ministers, signed his final will on 3 October 1700, annulling the renunciations imposed on Maria Theresa and fixing the entire inheritance on the younger grandson of Louis XIV, Philip, Duke of Anjou. As Philip was not immediately in line for the French throne (the Dauphin and the Duke of Burgundy stood between him and the crown), the Spanish government hoped that this arrangement would be acceptable to European states who feared the unification of the French and Spanish thrones under a single monarch. If Philip should die or refuse, the offer was to extend to his younger brother, the Duke of Berry; if they both refused, the undivided inheritance would be offered to Archduke Charles.

Recognition of the Duke of Anjou as King of Spain, under the name of Philip V, 16 November 1700 byFrançois Gérard

King Charles II of Spain finally died on 1 November 1700. Louis XIV now faced a dilemma which he himself recognised as intractable. If he forbade the Duke of Anjou to accept the Spanish thrones and instead adhered to the Second Partition Treaty — which Leopold I had refused to sign and the Spanish had refused to recognise — Archduke Charles would almost certainly be acknowledged as the King of Spain and all its dominions, as stipulated in Charles II's last will in the event of refusal by the Duke of Anjou. The Austrian Habsburgs would accrue enormous power while France would gain nothing, and war with both Spain and Austria would be inevitable. Accepting the will of Charles II would also mean war with Leopold I, but in this case France would be allied with Spain defending rights recognised in the Spanish Monarchy. In any event the French king surmised that the Maritime Powers — anxious themselves for peace — would be either neutral or only half-heartedly involved, so long as the French and Spanish crowns were not united. With this reasoning, Louis XIV decided to accept Charles II's last testament, and sent his grandson to Madrid to reign there as King Philip V of Spain. It became the root cause of the war.