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“The Song of the Shirt” Replanted : Thomas Hood’s Poem in a Nordic Context

Wadsö-Lecaros, Cecilia LU orcid (2024) In English Studies 105(8). p.1230-1253
Abstract
Thomas Hood’s poem “The Song of the Shirt” was an immediate success when first published in Punch in 1843. Previous research has shown how the poem responded to the mid-nineteenth-century debate concerning the working situation of needlewomen. The ways in which this hugely popular poem was recontextualised in translation have, however, received surprisingly little attention. Arguing that British nineteenth-century social-reform texts were appropriated over time and via translation by socio-political interests whose agenda reached far beyond the aims of the original authors of these texts, the present article traces the way in which Hood’s poem spread through Europe and beyond. With a particular focus on the role that “The Song of the... (More)
Thomas Hood’s poem “The Song of the Shirt” was an immediate success when first published in Punch in 1843. Previous research has shown how the poem responded to the mid-nineteenth-century debate concerning the working situation of needlewomen. The ways in which this hugely popular poem was recontextualised in translation have, however, received surprisingly little attention. Arguing that British nineteenth-century social-reform texts were appropriated over time and via translation by socio-political interests whose agenda reached far beyond the aims of the original authors of these texts, the present article traces the way in which Hood’s poem spread through Europe and beyond. With a particular focus on the role that “The Song of the Shirt” played in Sweden, the article demonstrates how the poem transitioned from its initial expression of compassion to being employed by the Swedish early Socialist movement several decades later.
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Abstract (Swedish)
Thomas Hood’s poem “The Song of the Shirt” was an immediate success when first published in Punch in 1843. Previous research has shown how the poem responded to the mid-nineteenth-century debate concerning the working situation of needlewomen. The ways in which this hugely popular poem was recontextualised in translation have, however, received surprisingly little attention. Arguing that British nineteenth-century social-reform texts were appropriated over time and via translation by socio-political interests whose agenda reached far beyond the aims of the original authors of these texts, the present article traces the way in which Hood’s poem spread through Europe and beyond. With a particular focus on the role that “The Song of the... (More)
Thomas Hood’s poem “The Song of the Shirt” was an immediate success when first published in Punch in 1843. Previous research has shown how the poem responded to the mid-nineteenth-century debate concerning the working situation of needlewomen. The ways in which this hugely popular poem was recontextualised in translation have, however, received surprisingly little attention. Arguing that British nineteenth-century social-reform texts were appropriated over time and via translation by socio-political interests whose agenda reached far beyond the aims of the original authors of these texts, the present article traces the way in which Hood’s poem spread through Europe and beyond. With a particular focus on the role that “The Song of the Shirt” played in Sweden, the article demonstrates how the poem transitioned from its initial expression of compassion to being employed by the Swedish early Socialist movement several decades later.
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Thomas Hood, The Song of the Shirt, translation studies, Anglo-Swedish exchange, poetry, Nineteenth-century studies, Thomas Hood, The Song of the Shirt, translation studies, Anglo-Swedish exchange, poetry, nineteenth-century studies
in
English Studies
volume
105
issue
8
pages
24 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85210490076
ISSN
1744-4217
DOI
10.1080/0013838X.2024.2431792
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e4d5f25e-0040-4dc6-be2a-a1c4df5d654a
date added to LUP
2024-11-12 17:32:49
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:38:19
@article{e4d5f25e-0040-4dc6-be2a-a1c4df5d654a,
  abstract     = {{Thomas Hood’s poem “The Song of the Shirt” was an immediate success when first published in Punch in 1843. Previous research has shown how the poem responded to the mid-nineteenth-century debate concerning the working situation of needlewomen. The ways in which this hugely popular poem was recontextualised in translation have, however, received surprisingly little attention. Arguing that British nineteenth-century social-reform texts were appropriated over time and via translation by socio-political interests whose agenda reached far beyond the aims of the original authors of these texts, the present article traces the way in which Hood’s poem spread through Europe and beyond. With a particular focus on the role that “The Song of the Shirt” played in Sweden, the article demonstrates how the poem transitioned from its initial expression of compassion to being employed by the Swedish early Socialist movement several decades later.<br/>}},
  author       = {{Wadsö-Lecaros, Cecilia}},
  issn         = {{1744-4217}},
  keywords     = {{Thomas Hood; The Song of the Shirt; translation studies; Anglo-Swedish exchange; poetry; Nineteenth-century studies; Thomas Hood; The Song of the Shirt; translation studies; Anglo-Swedish exchange; poetry; nineteenth-century studies}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{11}},
  number       = {{8}},
  pages        = {{1230--1253}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{English Studies}},
  title        = {{“The Song of the Shirt” Replanted : Thomas Hood’s Poem in a Nordic Context}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0013838X.2024.2431792}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/0013838X.2024.2431792}},
  volume       = {{105}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}