Helen Maria Williams

In the background describing this author, I learned that Williams was a liberal poet. She had a great deal of enthusiasm for the revolution, as seen in her texts. I found her writing captivating. She wrote with a passion that I think is hard to duplicate. She was quite obviously excited by the French Revolution. She saw it as an opportunity for new ideas and new possibilities. She described the Champ de Mars as if it were one of the most magnificent sights she had ever seen. She wrote, "Half a million people assembled at a spectacle, which furnished every image that can elevate the mind of man; which connected the enthusiasm of moral sentiment with the solemn pomp of religious ceremonies; which addressed itself at once to the imagination, the understanding, and the heart!" (pg. 37).

When she wrote about her visit to the Bastille Prison, you could tell how emotional she became at the sights of "hooks of those chains by which the prisoners were fastened round the neck, to the walls of their cells..." (pg. 39). She came up with the perfect metaphor of light versus dark. By using this mundane explanation of "light and shade," (pg. 39) she brought to life her feelings to those who had not been able to see the prison. She was able to portray the light with which the aristocrats lead their life while contrasting the dark life the political critics lead in the shadows of Bastille. When the disparity between wealth and poverty grows, it invites violence and revolution, as seen in the French Revolution. She continues the metaphor by sayings "the beams of liberty, like the beams of day, shed their benign influence on the cottage of the peasant, as well as on the palace of the monarch!" (pg. 40) This passage depicts her view that liberty and equality should be shared like the beams of the sun. It does not only casts its beams upon the palace of kings and queens; the sun is enjoyed by all. She is making the point that everyone is entitled a little sunlight, a little happiness, a little equality, in their lives. This metaphor impressed me the most, and I was able to understand her thoughts much more clearly since she used something that everyone, no matter what century you were born in, understands.

The last point I would like to draw attention to in her work lies on the pages 40 and 41. She explains to her reader that some aristocrats have "renounced the spendour of his titles or the general good," (pg. 40). She is obviously supporting this act and tries to glorify it. She wants to push the readers to get behind those who do the same and look down on those who still grasp to their inheritance and titles. She writes, "The number of those who have murmured at the loss of rank, bears a very small proportion to those who have acted with a spirit of distinguished patriotism; who, with those generous affections which belong to the female heart, have gloried in sacrificing titles, fortune, and even in personal ornaments, so dear to female vanity, for the common cause," (pg. 41). In this passage, I felt as though she is trying to connect with female readers in an attempt to push her own beliefs upon them. She wants them to know the noble cause is one of revolution, and they need to rise up to the challenges of renouncing their wealth and embrace the new opportunities at hand. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this passage because of her extreme passion. I always find that an author writes more eloquently on topics he or she exhibits fervor, or zeal, for.