France in the long nineteenth century new government. Policy became considerably more radical. The government instituted the "levy-en-masse", where all able-bodied men 18 and older were liable for military service. This allowed France to field much larger armies than its enemies, and soon the tide of war was reversed. The Committee of Public Safety came under the control of Maximilien Robespierre, and the Jacobins unleashed the Reign of Terror (1793–1794). At least 1200 people met their deaths under the guillotine — or otherwise — after accusations of counter-revolutionary activities. In October, the queen was beheaded, further antagonizing Austria. In 1794 Robespierre had ultra-radicals and moderate Jacobins
The Man Whose Pharynx Was Bad The Man Whose Pharynx Was Bad "The Man Whose Pharynx Was Bad" is a poem from Wallace Stevens's first book of poetry, "Harmonium." First published in 1921, it is in the public domain in the United States. One point of entry into this poem is Stevens' attitude towards the weather. Is it all he cared about or does it converge with reflections on the passage of time and attendant issues such as ennui and ageing? (The difference between Helen Vendler and Harold Bloom on this matter is noted in the main Harmonium essay, the section "The musical imagist".) This poem