Britannia and the British Empire what Marianne is to France or perhaps what Columbia is to the United States. Britannia became a very potent and more common figure in times of war, and represented British liberties and democracy. During the 1990s the term "Cool Britannia" (drawn from a humorous version by the Bonzo Dog Band of the song "Rule Britannia", with words by James Thomson [1700–1748], which is often used as an unofficial national anthem), was used to describe the contemporary United Kingdom. The phrase referred to the fashionable scenes of the era, with a new generation of pop groups and
What Is Art? to justify their own tastes. Jahn notes the "often confusing use of categorisation" and the lack of definition of the key concept of emotion. Bayley writes that "the effectiveness of "What is Art?" lies not so much in its positive assertions as in its rejection of much that was taken for granted in the aesthetic theories of the time". Noyes criticises Tolstoy's dismissal of beauty, but states that, "despite its shortcomings", "What is Art?" "may be pronounced the most stimulating critical work of our time". Simmons mentions the "occasional brilliant passages" along with the "repetition, awkward language, and loose terminology".