The Cockney School - Philosophical Concept | Alexandria
The Cockney School, a pejorative label applied to a group of early 19th-century English writers, primarily associated with Romanticism, remains a curious case of literary categorization. More smear than school, the term broadly encompassed writers such as John Keats, Leigh Hunt, and Percy Bysshe Shelley (though Shelley's inclusion is debatable), supposedly unified by their humble origins and perceived lack of refined taste. This crude classification invites us to question the motives behind such labeling and the socio-political anxieties of the time it reveals.
The earliest clear articulation of "The Cockney School" appears in Blackwood's Magazine in 1817, in a series of scathing attacks that aimed not only to critique literary style, but to denigrate the social standing of these emerging poets. The articles dripped with class bias, fueled by a conservative establishment threatened by the rise of a more democratized literary scene. This period of social upheaval, marked by the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars and simmering discontent amongst the working classes, provided fertile ground for such divisive rhetoric.
Over time, the initial sting of the moniker faded, and interpretations shifted. While some continued to use the term derisively, others saw it as a badge of honor, representing a challenge to the established literary norms. Later, figures like William Hazlitt championed Hunt's accessible style even if he didn't embrace the "Cockney" label. Perhaps the greatest irony lies in the fact that Keats, initially dismissed as an uneducated upstart, is now considered one of the most significant poets in the English language. His sensuous language and exploration of beauty continue to captivate, rendering the initial attacks absurd.
The legacy of The Cockney School endures as a reminder of the complex interplay between literature, class, and social prejudice. Today, the term serves as a cautionary tale against hasty judgment and the dangers of elitist literary criticism. The enduring power of Keats's poetry compels us to reconsider the motivations of his detractors and to ask: What other voices have been unjustly silenced by the gatekeepers of culture, their genius dismissed on the basis of origin rather than merit?