summary of the poem "after blenheim"
Answers
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.
Answer:
One evening in fields around the Bavarian town of Blenheim in southern Germany, an elderly farmer named Kaspar sits in front of his cottage watching his grandchildren, Wilhelmine and Peterkin, at play. Peterkin is rolling an object he found near a stream. He takes it to Kaspar and asks what it is. The old man, who has found many such objects while plowing the fields, replies that it is the skull of a soldier who died in the Battle of Blenheim. Their curiosity aroused, the children ask him about the battle and why it was fought. The English routed the French, he says, in what later generations would call a great and famous victory. However, Kaspar is at a loss to explain the cause of the battle. He does know that thousands died in it—not only soldiers but also townspeople, including children. In fact, the fields were littered with corpses. But such terrible consequences are part of war, he says. They do not negate the glory of the victory. Wilhelmine then comments that the battle was "a wicked thing," but Kaspar tells her she is wrong. “It was a famous victory," he says. Peterkin asks what good came of the fighting. Kaspar says he does not know, but adds, " 'twas a famous victory."
Historical Background
.......In November 1700, the grandson of King Louis XIV of France acceded to the throne of Spain as Philip V. Austria and other European nations saw this development as an unfair maneuver by Louis to increase his power and influence. Consequently, war broke out in 1701 between Austria and France.
.......England and The Netherlands allied themselves with Austria. The German principalities of Bavaria and Cologne and the Italian principalities of Mantua and Savoy allied themselves with France. As the war progressed, Portugal and various German dominions, including Prussia and Hanover, entered the war on the side of Austria. In addition, Savoy renounced its allegiance to the French and joined the anti-French coalition.
.......In 1704, the coalition defeated French and Bavarian forces at Blenheim (the English name for the town of Blindheim) in one of the most important battles of the war. Among the conquering heroes were England's duke of Marlborough and Savoy's Prince Eugene.
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