Reaction Paper to Rule, Britannia by: Anne Louise G.

Onglatco The song Jerusalem started out as the poem And did those feet in ancient time by William Blake. The music of the song was composed by Sir Hubert Parry. The poem starts out as: And did those feet in ancient time. Walk upon Englands mountains green: And was the holy Lamb of God, On Englands pleasant pastures seen! The owner of the feet in the poem is said to be Jesus Christ. Thus, the poem or the song seems to suggest that Jesus went to England when he was a young boy. Since Jesus supposedly walked on England, then England can be considered as the second Jerusalem. Because of this, then England can be considered a great nation being the place of Jesus Christ. The lyrics of the song have a lot of metaphors and they make the words rich with meaning. These words refer to the great Divine powers that bless the people of England. They can use these powers to rise as a great nation. The song was actually used as an anthem during Fight for Right campaign in order to brace the spirit of the nation accept with cheerfulnes all the necessary sacrifices. Specifically, the song encourages the people of Britain to think that they are fighting for the best interests of humanity. Since the song has a connection with Jesus, the song asks for the people to resist temptation in times of their weakness. Because it was a time of war, the organizers hoped that the song would encourage the people to cheerfully do all the necessary sacrifices in order to have a good ending for the war. Since England is mainly a Catholic country, it is no wonder that they were able to adapt the hymn immediately. The song can be used in church and is actually used by many churches in England during certain occasions, especially those celebrating Jerusalem. In fact, it was one of the three hymns sung during the wedding of William, Prince of Wales and Catherine Middleton. In a way, England and the Philippines have great similarities because they are both Catholic nations. Thus, it is easy to relate to them using a religious song to unite the country. As with most powerful themes, they start out as a poem and later on music is just added to them. We can therefore say that Jerusalem is not only a religious song but a patriotic song as well. It is a powerful and very influential song that appealed to the nationalistic hearts of the British. It also appealed to their religious side, thus giving the song even more weight when sung during important celebrations. This shows the power that a song can have in uniting a country. When the people of a country put the meaning of a song to their heart and mind, then it can create a very powerful symbol for them. Jerusalem is one of those songs that is both in the heart and mind of the British.