Genre:

Poetry, Drollery

Subjects:

Light, Electricity, Instruments, Technology, Politics, Government

    The subject of this article is the light recently installed on the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, which will shine when the House of Commons is in session. The poem, written from the perspective of the Chief Commissioner of the Metropolitan Board of Works, Acton Ayrton, describes his unsmiling expression and uncompromising attitude. The narrator notes that he has given the light to the House of Commons gratis. He insists that 'To hire electric light I'm loth', and claims that his choice of gas lighting was prompted by the fact that 'cheap gas' was plentiful, Ayrton liking anything that is 'cheap and nasty'. Boasts that his lamp, 'Backed with reflectors through the gloom', will 'illume' one half of London, a symbol of the House of Commons where 'but one side can be right'. Adds that his clock will also show how the House of Commons 'takes no note of time', but both the light from the lamp and political 'wisdom' will have to shine through 'a weary length / Of leaden spouting'. Concludes by insisting that his light will keep the 'balance right' and is better than 'costlier, brighter, broader light' that would have 'conveyed' less meaning.