Percy Bysshe Shelley Lions tea towel

£14.00
100% Organic Cotton
Made in the UK
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  • Sturdy half panama unbleached US cotton (48cm x 70cm)
  • Our special inks mean that colours last in the wash
  • Includes hanging loop
  • Designed and manufactured in the UK
  • Delivery with Royal Mail, free on orders over £35
  • 100-day money back guarantee if you change your mind

‘Rise like lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number.
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you –
Ye are many – they are few.’

Although not famous in his lifetime, Percy Bysshe Shelley is now seen as one of the finest lyric poets in the English language, and one of the most influential. The quote here comes from The Masque of Anarchy, a poem written by Shelley in 1819, inspired by the events of the Peterloo Massacre which had occurred earlier that same year. A call for freedom, perhaps the first modern one in favour of non-violent resistance to tyranny, it has since become a rallying cry for peaceful resistance, recited at uprisings throughout history, from Tiananmen Square to Tahrir Square. With Shelley being a radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, it’s a fitting legacy for his work. Jeremy Corbyn also quoted these words in several speeches, including once to a crowd of 120,000 at Glastonbury festival, citing it as his favourite line.

The image on our tea towel is based on the painting “A Family of Lions” by Geza Vastagh (1866-1919).

 

Half Panama unbleached cotton (heavy weight, textured finish). Stitched on all four sides. Includes hanging loop. Measures approximately 48 x 70cm. Machine wash at 40 degrees max. We recommend that before you use your tea towel for the first time you wash it at least once to soften up the material and make it more absorbent for drying dishes. Please note size can vary slightly.