Blake, Barnes and a different patriotism | Letters

Letters

Sunday, 11 Sep 2022

Blake’s words are now wrapped in the flag, writes John Nash

Jason Whittaker’s description of the cultural battle that engulfed Parry’s and Wallen’s setting of Blake’s poem Jerusalem (Anti-empire, anti-fascist, pro-suffragist: the stunning secret life of Proms staple Jerusalem, 5 September) is troubling for lefty liberals like me. In claiming the hymn for the left, I have to reject the pomp and circumstance of the patriotic version so loved by those on the right. Blake’s remarkable creativity was driven by visions. Complexity doesn’t fit easily with patriotism, a state of mind grounded in simple choices, my country right or wrong. In Blake’s view, wrong. Yet his words are now wrapped in the flag.

William Barnes, a contemporary of Blake, offers us lefties a cleaner form of patriotism, respect for the freedom the working man. In his poem My Orcha’d in Linden Lea, Barnes describes the traditional life of the rural labourer free from the grind of the industrial towns. Vaughan Williams set the poem to music as Linden Lea in 1901. The inclusion of Linden Lea in the Last Night programme would have been a welcome challenge to tradition.
John Nash
Child Okeford, Dorset

• Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication.

Letters

Sunday, 11 Sep 2022

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Proms changes replace jingoism with hope | Letters

Letters: Readers air their views in the debate over the traditional flag-waving anthems Rule, Britannia! and Land of Hope and Glory

Letters

31, Aug, 2020 @4:16 PM

What’s weird about the Duchess of Sussex’s light tights? | Brief letters

Brief letters: Churchill on the tube | Richard Madeley v Gavin Williamson | Proms symphonies | Leg coverings | Stapling the Guardian

Letters

30, May, 2018 @5:07 PM

Rule, Britannia! is out of tune with the times | Letters

Letters: The song should be axed from the Last Night of the Proms, says Adelheid Russenberger, while Prof John Barrell thinks the lyrics apply only too well to present-day Britain. Plus letters from Malcolm Shifrin, Penelope Putz, Karen Lewton and Ruth Lewis

Letters

25, Aug, 2020 @5:03 PM

Cummings’ phone and lockdown row | Brief letters

Letters

09, Aug, 2020 @4:56 PM

Stop flagging up the Proms | Brief letters

Letters

20, Apr, 2018 @3:49 PM

Great British art did not start with a flea | Brief letters

Letters

23, Apr, 2019 @5:19 PM

Making classical music accessible | Letters

Letters: If you want to address imbalance in the classical music world you need to increase opportunity for those without the means, writes David Williams. And Stan Labovitch praises the BBC Proms Youth Choir

Letters

31, Jul, 2019 @4:15 PM

Classical music and the dreaded ‘elite’ tag | Letters

Letters: Alan Davey defends the work of the BBC, Stephen Pettitt says most classical music-making functions on a frayed shoestring, Sue Clark believes interest in classical music is fostered through exposure and participation from an early age, and Paul Michell claims the Guardian’s treatment of classical music is like filling the books pages with Jeffrey Archer reviews

Letters

07, Jul, 2019 @4:38 PM

Singing the praises of classical music | Letters

Letters: Colin Bradbury calls for classical music to be given pride of place in newspaper coverage, while Richard Lee would like to see the Proms showcase the full range of musical talent

Letters

31, Aug, 2021 @4:29 PM

When the Proms clapping has to stop – or start | Letters

Letters: Readers give their views on when and when not to applaud classical music performances

Letters

27, Jul, 2018 @3:54 PM