Eliza Cook (1817-1889)
“A Song for the Workers”
Editorial Introduction
Eliza Cook (1818–1889) was a working-class, Victorian poet who was recognized for her progressive support of workers, her defense of the oppressed, and her accessible poetic voice. During her time, Cook positioned herself as a poet of the people who wrote at the intersection of political critique and moral sentiment. She sought to give the working-class a voice; laborers were not just cogs in the machine of capitalism, but men and women who were struggling to provide for their families.
“A Song for the Workers” celebrates the dignity and moral worth of manual labor while mourning the social inequalities that exploit the working class. Solveig C. Robinson speaks of Cook’s advocacy in her article, “Of ‘Haymakers’ and ‘City Artisans’: The Chartist Poetics of Eliza Cook’s Songs of Labor.” She describes Cook as a “poet of the people” who wrote poems intended to “inform and reform” (Robinson 30). Cook’s poem calls attention to workers’ endurance and solidarity in the midst of systemic oppression. The poem’s rhythm and Cook’s use of the inclusive “we” evokes communal strength and turns the poem into political expression and collective compassion.
Stylistically, Cook’s use of refrain and regular rhyme scheme reflects the tradition of the popular ballad, yet beneath its melodic surface and “simple, direct language,” the poem reveals a harsh critique of capitalism and class structures (Robinson 30). Because of her use of simple language and rhyme, it is easy to overlook Cook’s radicalism and the poem’s indictment of economic injustice; however, her lyrics beg the reader to reimagine what work could be in a world that values economic justice.
Works Cited
Robinson, Solveig C. “Of ‘Haymakers’ and ‘City Artisans’: The Chartist Poetics of Eliza Cook’s ‘Songs of Labor.’” Victorian Poetry, vol. 39, no. 2, 2001, pp. 229–54.
Resources
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Let Man toil to win his living,
Work is not a task to spurn;
Poor is gold of others’ giving,
To the silver that we earn.
Let Man proudly take his station
At the smithy, loom, or plough;
The richest crown-pearls in a nation
Hang from Labour’s reeking brow.
Though her hand grows hard with duty,
Filling up the common Fate; 10
Let fair Woman’s cheek of beauty
Never blush to own its state.
Let fond Woman’s heart of feeling
Never be ashamed to spread
Industry and honest dealing,
As a barter for her bread.
Work on bravely, GOD ‘s own daughters!
Work on stanchly, GOD ‘s own sons!
But when Life has too rough waters,
Truth must fire her minute guns. 20
Shall ye be unceasing drudges?
Shall the cry upon your lips
Never make your selfish judges
Less severe with Despot-whips?
Shall the mercy that we cherish,
As old England’s primest boast,
See no slaves but those who perish
On a far and foreign coast?
When we reckon hives of money,
Owned by Luxury and Ease, 30
Is it just to grasp the honey
While Oppression chokes the bees?
Is it just the poor and lowly
Should be held as soulless things?
Have they not a claim as holy
As rich men, to angels’ wings?
Shall we burthen Boyhood’s muscle?
Shall the young Girl mope and lean,
Till we hear the dead leaves rustle
On a tree that should be green? 40
Shall we bar the brain from thinking
Of aught else than work and woe?
Shall we keep parched lips from drinking
Where refreshing waters flow?
Shall we strive to shut out Reason,
Knowledge, Liberty, and Health?
Shall all Spirit-light be treason
To the mighty King of Wealth?
Shall we stint with niggard measure,
Human joy, and human rest? 50
Leave no profit—give no pleasure,
To the toiler’s human breast?
Shall our Men, fatigued to loathing.
Plod on sickly, worn, and bowed?
Shall our Maidens sew fine clothing,
Dreaming of their own, white shroud?
No! for Right is up and asking
Loudly for a juster lot;
And Commerce must not let her tasking
Form a nation’s canker spot. 60
Work on bravely, GOD ‘s own daughters!
Work on stanchly, GOD ‘s own sons!
But till ye have smoother waters,
Let Truth fire her minute guns!
