The Industrial Revolution significantly influenced artists in the UK, prompting them to reflect on its societal impacts. Artists like Gustave Doré and William Morris depicted both the human cost of industrialisation and the need for beauty in everyday objects. This led to a new artistic consciousness, blending critique with a quest for meaning.… Read More Art After Industry: The Gaze That Responds
During the height of the suffragette movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, poetry played a vital—though often underappreciated—role in both articulating protest and nurturing solidarity. While much attention is given to marches, arrests, and political speeches, the era was also rich with verse: lyrical, angry, hopeful, and deeply personal. Poetry was not… Read More voices of defiance: poetry in the suffragette movement
The Romantic period is often dominated by famous male poets, but many remarkable female writers were equally active during the Industrial Revolution, offering their powerful reflections on nature, emotion, social injustice, and the changing world around them. Poets like Charlotte Smith, Mary Robinson, Anna Laetitia Barbauld, and Felicia Hemans wrote with a unique voice, often… Read More forgotten voices: female romantic poets of the industrial revolution
Lancashire Dialect Poetry: The People’s Voice in Verse captures the raw, and heartfelt spirit of everyday life through the words and rhythms of the people themselves. I’m endlessly fascinated by dialect poetry because it preserves the unique sounds, expressions, and humour of a place and time often overlooked in mainstream literature. It’s more than just… Read More lancashire dialect poetry: the people’s voice in verse
Hyde, once a bustling mill town nestled in the Tameside borough of Greater Manchester, played a significant role in Britain’s Industrial Revolution. Its red-brick chimneys and clattering looms were not only the soundtrack of progress but also the backdrop for stories of hardship, endurance, and resilience. Amidst this clamour, voices rose, quietly at first, then… Read More voices from the mills: the poets of hyde’s cotton industry
In an age marked by rapid technological change, global unrest, and a persistent ache for meaning, the voice of the poet feels more urgent than ever. We live in a time where artificial intelligence writes headlines, climate disasters displace millions, and war is no longer history; it is livestreamed. Amongst all of this, the poet… Read More the modern-day poet: speaking light into a darkened world
The Industrial Revolution, beginning in the late 18th century, transformed the fabric of society, bringing about unprecedented advances in machinery, urbanisation, and economic growth. But beneath the hum of steam engines and the rise of smokestacks, poets heard something else: the wail of displaced workers, the mechanisation of the human spirit, and the loss of… Read More poetry and the industrial revolution: verse against the machine
I am drawn to poetry in all its forms, whether a simple quote, a line of spoken word, or a verse that breaks free from convention. Poetry speaks to me with an immediacy and emotional force that few other mediums can match. Words hold power, and I am especially intrigued by how poetry has long… Read More Poetry and revolution: the voice of fire in the human heart
In the turbulent landscape of 19th-century Britain, Chartism emerged as the first mass political movement driven by the working class. Between 1838 and 1857, millions of people rallied behind the People’s Charter, demanding sweeping political reforms including universal male suffrage, secret ballots, and parliamentary representation for all. Yet while Chartism was rooted in economic hardship… Read More Chartism and the poetry of shelley: revolution in words and deeds
As part of my MA final project, I wanted to explore what was happening in the art and poetry world during and before the Industrial Revolution. In my research, I came across an interesting article on the Art UK website. Posted 21 Mar 2019, by Lydia Figes Romanticism was one of the most important movements of the… Read More The Romantic Poets in Art
Rachel Bakewell 