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The Rebirth of England and English: The Vision of William Barnes

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William Barnes (1801-1886) was called the Dorset Poet. He was a polymath. From his life one could learn much of the history of politics, craftsmanship, philosophy, almost any subject. But this book is for two types of people, lovers of pre-industrial England, and those interested in philology (speechlore as Barnes might have said it).

Barnes was against progress. That made him the perfect Anti-Victorian. His poetry is of an unspoiled, rural English countryside; a land years before the "dark, Satanic mills" of the industrial revolution that dirtied the forests, suffocated the leafy glens, and dulled the spirits of England, and Wales.

For me above all this book is about Barnes' love of the English language and his effort to recreate an English as it might have evolved purely from its Anglo-Saxon roots; English as it might have been had Harold and the English won the Battle of Hastings in 1066AD.

Anglo-Saxon words make for loveliness in speech - as Winston Churchill showed. It is handy to know them today. Those who care for the Gothic (Germanic) origin of our language must read The Rebirth of England and English The Vision of William Barnes.