86 The Poetry of Mary Robinsonwith mindless enthusiasm and foolhardy idealism (26), but this
review came eighteen months after the publication of the poem. A
more timely review, from the Monthly Review in January of 1791,
also applauds Merry for his own “liberality” in his address to Burke,
“for the candor, generosity, and delicacy with which he appeals to
the heart of that celebrated writer, against the extreme severity of
his pen!” (57, 62). This remark ref lects the initial opinion of many
that Burke’s Reflections was a bit hysterical in its condemnation of
the French Revolution and its reactionary defense of chivalry, primo-
geniture, and the English constitution. Merry’s poem is the earliest
published response to Burke, though few have recognized it as such.^12
Wollstonecraft’s reply to Burke, A Vindication of the Rights of Men,
appeared in print on 29 November, three weeks after Merry’s.
Merry’s The Laurel of Liberty was in a second edition by December—
not as impressive as the eleven editions of Burke’s Reflections. In
January 1791, the Critical Review, for example, reviewed Merry’s
and Robinson’s poems alongside Joseph Priestley’s Letters to Edmund
Burke, censuring in Merry only the hyperbole of his enthusiasm
and the extravagance of his language. Merry’s poem is likely also a
response to Daniel Deacon’s “The Triumph of Liberty,” written to
celebrate the centenary of the Glorious Revolution. In his preface,
Merry denounces such complacency as the sentiments of those who
“are so charmed by apparent commercial prosperity, that they could
view with happy indifference the encroachments of insidious power,
and the gradual decay of the Constitution” (v). Merry’s Laurel of
Liberty is a clear dismissal of the Della Crusca avatar in his rejection
of love’s “extacy divine” and the assertion that “a still nobler, grander
theme inspires, / And Love is lost in Reason’s purer fires” (9).
Robinson’s tribute to Merry, Ainsi va le monde, appeared within
days of his poem, quickly selling into a second edition. Robinson,
recognizing a kindred spirit in Merry, wrote her poem to help him
disconnect from the Della Crusca avatar. He could not make this
move as the partly ludicrous Della Crusca and does not mention the
avatar—likely to the chagrin of Bell, who would have liked to have
had the pseudonym at least printed on the title page. When Robinson
pays tribute to Merry, however, she does so as Laura Maria, the name
on her title page. In his fervor, Merry awards his poetic laurel to
France and loses it; Robinson wants it for herself.Ainsi va le monde
Ainsi va le monde, a Poem is Robinson’s first truly ambitious work,
her first book publication since her juvenile writings over a decade9780230100251_04_ch02.indd 869780230100251_04_ch02.indd 86 12/28/2010 11:08:29 AM12/28/2010 11:08:29 AM
10.1057/9780230118034 - The Poetry of Mary Robinson, Daniel RobinsonCopyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket iTr
omso - PalgraveConnect - 2011-04-13