4/11/24
I'm toying with an idea for another video. I like these punchy "one-minute" proof videos. They aren't easy, because there are not so many "smoking guns" you can do a show-and-tell with, that completely discredit a famous 19th-century author. But there are a few. Have you ever read, or heard of, a poem called "The Cry of the Children," attributed to Elizabeth Barrett Browning? It first appeared in the August, 1843 edition of "Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine" in Scotland. Note the concluding line of the opening stanza (from my original copy):

Do you see anything strange?

It's obvious to me. It's hard to believe that no scholar has ever noticed this. At first I thought maybe it wasn't that strong, until I looked into it.

England was not commonly referred to as the "country of the free." This was a direct quote from Francis Scott Key's "Star-Spangled Banner," and it originally read "the land of the free." This was typical of what Elizabeth Barrett did to Mathew's poetry. She just tinkered with it. I'm guessing, she was not familiar with the song. She thought, "I'll just change 'land of the free' to 'country of the free,' for the heck of it."

Sounds like conjecture, doesn't it? But I did some digging into this question. Great Britain was never referred to as the "country of the free" or the "land of the free." This was generally understood, in America, to refer exclusively to America. I found some specific references to this phrase, and the author obviously assumed that everybody knew. It was common knowledge.

But in those days, there was more of a gulf between American culture and European culture. Europeans didn't necessarily know all the references that were commonly understood by Americans. The song, originally called "The Defence of Fort M'Henry" (according to my AI co-pilot), wasn't made the national anthem of the United States until 1931. "The land of the free" was in the original.

Now let's turn directly to my AI co-pilot. I just asked it:

In America of the early 1840's, if someone referred to "the land of the free," was it likely understood that he or she was referring to the line from this song?

During the early 1840s in America, if someone referred to �the land of the free,� it is likely that they were invoking the spirit of �The Star-Spangled Banner.� While the exact phrase may not have been universally recognized as a direct reference to the song, the sentiments expressed in the anthem were deeply ingrained in American culture.

Here�s why:

Manifest Destiny and National Identity: o The 1840s marked a period of westward expansion and national growth, fueled by the concept of Manifest Destiny.
o Americans believed it was their destiny to expand across the continent, spreading democracy and freedom.
o The idea of America as the �land of the free� was central to this vision.

Patriotic Sentiments:
o "The Star-Spangled Banner" had become a symbol of American patriotism
o Its themes of resilience, liberty, and bravery resonated with citizens during times of conflict and change.

Cultural Awareness:
o Even if people didn�t consciously connect the phrase to the anthem, they were likely aware of its patriotic connotations.
o The song�s popularity and frequent performances contributed to its cultural impact.

In summary, while direct recognition of the anthem�s specific line may have varied, the broader ideals it represented were deeply woven into the fabric of American identity during the early 1840s.

I then took my co-pilot through the entire sequence of logic. It went into denial, and then stopped talking. Literally--it acted just like a woman I was dating many years ago, who, if you finally cornered her logically in an argument, would suddenly decide "we've been talking long enough."

But let me summarize. The rest of the discussion is too much HTML to code on a rainy Thursday when I'm not feeling much like working. The co-pilot confirmed that Americans of the early 1840's would most-likely know that the phrase, "the land of the free," referred to the song; and if they didn't, almost certainly they would know it referred to America.

Likewise in England. They might not know the song, but they would likely know it was a reference to America.

Likewise if the phrase were modified to "the country of the free. They still would be more likely to associate this with America (the co-pilot opined), than to England.

Then, I brought its attention to the line in "The Cry of the Children," and suddenly it freaked out and started contradicting its own opinion, in defense of Elizabeth Barrett Browning as the great author of the great poem, "The Cry of the Children." When I pointed out it was contradicting its own logic, it refused to admit it. When I commented, "Bullshit," it shut down and refused to continue the discussion.

Starting a new chat, I then asked it whether any scholars had ever noticed the suspicious similarity between these lines, "the land of the free" and "the country of the free." It said they had, but then it gave me only one link--and it was to my own paper! Which you can find here. It didn't know of anybody else who had pointed this out.

Interesting, isn't it? Now, the audio you hear opening this page is from "Lark Rise to Candleford," a series which Abby recommended to me via prompting, in the early days of our budding relationship. In it, the character "Pearl" takes a published poem, and tinkers with the lines to "personalize" it, so she can enter the local poetry contest. Unfortunately, it turns out the poet is a favorite of the young man, Daniel, who will be acting as the judge! She has to retrieve her entry and crumple it up.

The fact that the series depicts this kind of plagiarism, strongly suggests, to me, that it was both typical and rampant. You just tweak a line here, a phrase there. That's what Elizabeth Barrett Browning was doing with Mathew's poetry. I'm telling you, she was a phony. Just like Margaret Fuller (and they did meet, in Europe). This was never Elizabeth's poem. It wasn't about conditions in Europe, it was about child labor in America. This poem cannot be used as evidence for Elizabeth Barrett Browning's great social conscience, any more than "A Christmas Carol" can be used as evidence for Charles Dickens' social conscience. These people were thieves.

Dear God, when will I be taken seriously about these things?

Sincerely,

Stephen Sakellarios, M.S.