"The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius" is an essay by George Orwell expressing his opinions on the situation in wartime Britain. The title alludes to the heraldic supporters appearing in the full royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom.
The essay was first published 19 January 1941 as the first volume of a series edited by T. R. Fyvel and Orwell, in the Searchlight Books published by Secker & Warburg.[1]
With the introductory sentence "As I write, highly civilized human beings are flying overhead, trying to kill me.", the content sheds some light on the process which eventually led Orwell to the writing of his famous dystopia, Nineteen Eighty-Four. It expressed his opinion that the outdated British class system was hampering the war effort, and that in order to defeat Hitler, Britain needed a socialist revolution. Therefore, Orwell argued, being a socialist and being a patriot were no longer antithetical, they became very much complementary[citation needed].
As a result, in Orwell's vision at the time, "The Lion and the Unicorn" would become the emblems of the revolution which would create a new kind of Socialism, a democratic "English Socialism" in contrast to the oppressing Soviet model - and also a new form of Britishness, a Socialist one liberated from Empire and the decadent old ruling classes. (Orwell specified that the revolutionary regime may keep on the royal family as a national symbol, though sweeping away all the rest of the British aristocracy).
The first part of the essay, "England Your England", is often considered an essay in itself.
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Excerpts
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| “ | As I write, highly civilized human beings are flying overhead, trying to kill me.
They do not feel any enmity against me as an individual, nor I against them. They are ‘only doing their duty’, as the saying goes. Most of them, I have no doubt, are kind-hearted law-abiding men who would never dream of committing murder in private life. On the other hand, if one of them succeeds in blowing me to pieces with a well-placed bomb, he will never sleep any the worse for it. He is serving his country, which has the power to absolve him from evil. (Opening paragraph) |
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| “ | The mentality of the English left-wing intelligentsia can be studied in half a dozen weekly and monthly papers. | ” |
See also
External links
References
- ^ Orwell, Sonia and Angus, Ian (eds.). The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell Volume 2: My Country Right or Left (1940-1943) (Penguin)
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