Introduction

 to the book

People, poems and politics of ebenezer Elliott, corn law rhymer

The article below is taken from the above book by Keith Morris. The work was published by the author in 2005; a limited edition with each book being numbered and signed by the author.

                       From humble beginnings in Rotherham, Elliott emigrated to Sheffield (a big step in 1819) & became a national institution in the 1830s for his unique poetry which loudly proclaimed support for the working man & thundered against the dastardly establishment. At the same time he became an influential player in the popular political movements of the day. Unlike most poets of his day, the South Yorkshire bard was not a product of the universities, but managed to educate himself while working in his father’s Rotherham iron foundry. A point to be kept in mind when appraising Elliott’s political & poetical achievements.

                    The writer’s earlier book, “Ebenezer Elliott: Corn Law Rhymer and Poet of the Poor,” was very much an introductory work, concentrating on the basic biography with a survey of the Rhymer’s verse penned by Ray Hearne. “People, Poems and Politics of Ebenezer Elliott, the Corn Law Rhymer” is a much different book; it takes a deeper look at various elements in the poet’s story and makes a good number of new discoveries about Elliott & his activities.

                    “People, Poems and Politics of Ebenezer Elliott, the Corn Law Rhymer” does what you might expect with such a title. It looks at the poet’s relationships with several personalities who were important to the bard; it examines the famous “Corn Law Rhymes,” it even discovers some unpublished poems by Elliott and it probes his politics, particularly in the early years of the Chartist Movement when the Corn Law Rhymer took a more central role on the national stage than had been understood previously. Behind the title lie two further levels which make the volume more useful to the serious reader. In the first place, the book is a very good resource on Elliott since it includes the most detailed chronology ever published of the poet’s life and work. Added to this are a useful reading list and Elliott’s important Preface to the “Corn Law Rhymes.” The Preface has only rarely been printed anywhere, yet it gives real insight into the poet’s motivation at a critical point in his career. The Preface is fairly long (which explains why the piece has not often seen publication) but it is worth a careful read since Elliott’s truculent character inexorably takes centre stage.

                    The book can also be viewed as a sort of biography since it begins with an autobiographical fragment written in 1841. The fragment has been mined by every commentator for biographical information, but the complete text, as printed in this study of Elliott, has not appeared in any of the books written about the poet. As the fragment deals only with the early years, it has been supplemented by two further articles which help the reader to form a complete picture of the Poet of the Poor. One is a major article which appeared in the Sheffield newspapers on the death of the poet; this article is very rewarding since it was written by a journalist who knew Elliott & his Sheffield personally. The other is an essay published in the United States & written by a close friend who ended his days in an American lunatic asylum!

                    The research findings described in this book show the poet in a different light to earlier studies which perhaps judged Elliott too much by his poetry. Today we are inclined to give greater weight to his other achievements, while still appreciating his verse – though not all of it! Elliott called himself “the Bard of Free Trade,” and it has been accepted for a long time that he was effective in bringing an end to restrictive trade practices such as the Corn Laws. What has been largely missed is that Elliott was not an influential member of parliament, he was not a powerful landlord: he was a man of the people, an ordinary man who cared enough to stand up and spout. At considerable risk. This took great determination and courage for a man in his position.

                    In another sense Elliott was a modern man well ahead of his time. His concern for working conditions, his wish to improve himself and his fellow men are today better appreciated. He was, despite what many people believed, a man of peace. “I would not hurt a fly, not even if it stung me” he once remarked, and he styled himself “the Bard of Universal Peace.” These beliefs are those of a character who would not be misplaced in society today. The poet’s impressive concern for the educational welfare of local working people is demonstrated through his dedication to the Mechanics’ Institute as described in a section of this book. This is another thoroughly modern attitude; so, too, is the bard’s struggle to educate himself – something usually described today as Lifelong Learning.

                    Given that Elliott was a dunce at school, it was a major achievement to become a political leader & a celebrated poet who was even read in France & the United States. Despite the misgivings of so many critics, he was an effective political poet who focussed the nation’s attention on injustice & the need for change. Yet he remained a humble man as his verse “Spenserian” indicates:-

Then let me write for immortality

One honest song, uncramp’d by forms or creeds,

That men unborn may read my times and me,

                        Taught by my living words, when I shall cease to be.

                    His “honest song” is worth studying for there are certainly quality poems in the poet’s work. It is good news that a university professor is preparing a new edition of Elliott’s poems for publication. This will help the revival of interest in Elliott’s poems & in the political activity of a remarkable man whose character was “uncramp’d by forms or creeds.”

                    Many newly discovered letters by Elliott appear in this volume, including those he wrote to Robert Southey and one he wrote to William Wordsworth. Also to be found in the book are several letters written by James Montgomery, the Sheffield poet & hymn writer, to whom Elliott submitted some of his manuscripts, and who made many appreciative remarks about the Corn Law Rhymer. The Elliott letters have been found in many different places as well as in Rotherham Library Archives and in the local history & archive sections of Sheffield Libraries. The writer’s thanks are due to the staff of both Rotherham & Sheffield Libraries for their co-operation & patience. The best collection of Elliott letters is to be found in Leeds University’s Brotherton Library. The author is pleased to acknowledge this & to point future researchers to this very useful Leeds collection.

                    “People, Poems and Politics of Ebenezer Elliott, the Corn Law Rhymer” details much new information about the Poet of the Poor  & portrays him as a positive force in the cultural & political development of Sheffield; in this sense it adjusts the balance in the poet’s favour after years of neglect and negative commentaries.

Keith Morris                                                                         Rotherham 2005

“Ebenezer Elliott: Corn Law Rhymer & Poet of the Poor” (joint author with Ray Hearne), Rotherwood Press 2002, ISBN 0 903666 95 2

“Wassop Worksop” published by the author, 2000.

“I Were A Worksop Lad” published by the author, 1998

“Pawnshop on Monday: Sheffield Folk Remember” (consultant editor), Hallamshire Press 1994

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