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The Annotated Edition

THE COMMONWEAL by Algernon Charles Swinburne

Summary, meaning, line-by-line analysis & FAQ.

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This poem celebrates the 1887 anniversary of the Magna Carta (1215), highlighting that 672 years have gone by since England — "the land whose name is freedom" — was compelled to sign that foundational charter of rights at Runnymede.

Poet
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Themes
freedom, identity, memory
The PoemFull text

THE COMMONWEAL

Algernon Charles Swinburne

1887 I Eight hundred years and twenty-one Have shone and sunken since the land Whose name is freedom bore such brand As marks a captive, and the sun Beheld her fettered hand. II But ere dark time had shed as rain Or sown on sterile earth as seed That bears no fruit save tare and weed An age and half an age again, She rose on Runnymede.

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

This poem celebrates the 1887 anniversary of the Magna Carta (1215), highlighting that 672 years have gone by since England — "the land whose name is freedom" — was compelled to sign that foundational charter of rights at Runnymede. Swinburne conveys that even though England was once a nation held captive under a tyrant, it fought back and gained its freedoms. It’s a patriotic tribute wrapped in meticulous historical calculation.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. Eight hundred years and twenty-one / Have shone and sunken since the land

    Editor's note

    Swinburne begins with a sharp detail: counting back 821 years from 1887 brings us to 1066, the year of the Norman Conquest. This marks the moment when England was captured, its freedoms taken away. The phrase "shone and sunken" evokes the rise and fall of years like suns, lending the passage of time a natural, almost rhythmic flow. The choice of the word "brand" is intentionally harsh, conjuring images of livestock or slaves being marked by their owners.

  2. But ere dark time had shed as rain / Or sown on sterile earth as seed

    Editor's note

    The second stanza takes a turn with "But" — shifting from oppression to resistance. Swinburne envisions the dark years following the Conquest as a poor growing season: time falling on barren land, yielding nothing but weeds. "An age and half an age" refers to about 150 years, the span between 1066 and 1215. Then we see the breakthrough: "She rose on Runnymede" — England, depicted as a woman, stands up in the meadow where King John was compelled to sign the Magna Carta. The agricultural imagery suggests that freedom is something to be cultivated, rather than simply handed out.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone carries a ceremonial pride, reminiscent of a toast at a national anniversary dinner. There’s a sense of importance in the vast historical sweep, yet it doesn’t evoke sorrow — Swinburne aims for triumph rather than lamentation. The precise, almost calculated beginning transitions into a more inviting, natural imagery of seeds and seasons, leaving the poem with a sense of both inevitability and vitality.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

The brand
The mark burned onto a captive or slave. Here, it represents how the Norman Conquest turned England into a subject nation, taking away its self-determination.
Tare and weed
Useless or harmful plants that choke good crops. They signify the wasted, oppressive years between the Conquest and Magna Carta—years that brought little of value to ordinary people.
Runnymede
The meadow by the Thames where Magna Carta was sealed in 1215. In the poem, it symbolizes the beginning of constitutional liberty—the moment England "rose" from captivity.
The fettered hand
England's sovereignty is literally restrained. The hand represents the authority that should govern freely, but it is bound, making the nation's subjugation both physical and personal rather than merely abstract.
Seed sown on sterile earth
Time passes, but freedom and justice remain elusive. The image references the biblical parable of the sower, implying that oppression leads to a form of spiritual and civic barrenness.

§06Historical context

Historical context

Swinburne penned this poem in 1887, coinciding with Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee — marking fifty years on the throne. The title, *The Commonweal*, refers to the common good or public welfare, a term deeply embedded in English political thought. Swinburne was a staunch republican in his younger days and continued to ardently defend political freedom throughout his life. By counting back 821 years from 1887 to the Norman Conquest of 1066, and recognizing that Magna Carta came about roughly 150 years later in 1215, he presents England's constitutional history as a long battle from oppression to liberty. The Jubilee context is significant: Swinburne is subtly questioning what the nation has achieved with the freedoms secured at Runnymede, reminding his Victorian audience that those rights were hard-won, not just easily passed down.

§07FAQ

Questions readers ask

"Commonweal" is an old English term that refers to the common good — the well-being of everyone in society, not just the powerful few. Swinburne uses this word to position the poem as focusing on public liberty rather than royal glory, which is a deliberate choice in a Jubilee year.

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