Representation of the Peace of Utrecht 1713 in English Poetry

During the formation of the Westphalian system (1648–1815), peace congresses functioned not only as arenas of negotiation but also as stages for representing the prestige and culture of each state. The article presents the most vivid examples of how the Peace Congress of Utrecht (1713) was represented in early Enlightenment English poetry. During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), Britain’s political scene became, for English poets, a European stage. Scholarly tradition has long maintained that one could easily distinguish Tory poets from Whig poets by their attitudes towards peace. The author challenges this assumption, focusing instead on the poets’ perception of the Peace of Utrecht and the thematic content of their poems. The reception of the Utrecht Peace by English poets was generally positive, and their poems sought to offer an appropriate representation of this significant event for Britain and to celebrate its heroes. Notably, some poets glorified the very act of peace and its architects, contrasting it with the previous years of warfare, while others emphasised that the foundations of the Peace of Utrecht had been laid through the deeds of its heroes—military commanders and diplomats. Among the poetic reflections, Alexander Pope’s Windsor Forest may be regarded as the most successful artistic representation of the Peace of Utrecht, whereas Thomas Tickell’s The Prospect of Peace is distinguished by its political neutrality. The so-called “Tory peace” was praised not only by Tory writers but also by poets sympathetic to Whiggism. Yet, regardless of political affiliation, the poets expressed in their works a unifying political idea that epitomised their patriotism and loyalty—the idea of British supremacy. Overall, the poetic representation of peace appealed to the restoration of material prosperity for the subjects and to the renewal of amicable relations among sovereigns.