Early Enlightenment English poets on Russia and its Sovereign: Matthew Prior and Thomas Tickell

Abstract

The transformation of political and international life at the turn of the 18th century gave rise to a storm of emotions in public opinion and stimulated European intellectuals to take part in the political life of their country and the continent as a whole. A special place in this process belongs to British poets. For two of them, Matthew Prior and Thomas Tickell, the poetic picture of the world extended to the power in the East - Russia, which was developing as dynamically as their homeland. Against the background of the changing image of Russia in Britain, the paper analyzes excerpts from famous works of these writers (Carmen seculare, for the year 1700 by Matthew Prior and A Poem ... on the Prospect of Peacе by Thomas Tickell) concerning Peter I and Russia. Prior and Tickell were the first well-known English Enlightenment poets who outlined the majestic image of Peter I and designated Russia as a major geopolitical power. Regardless of their political sympathies, these writers highlighted the threat emanating from Peter and used the Russian theme to emphasize the main political idea in their writings, the idea of British supremacy and the civilizing role of their state.

Keywords

• policy
• international relations
• Russia
• Peter I
• Matthew Prior
• Thomas Tickell