Poem
The Rights of Man
| Title | The Rights of Man |
|---|---|
| Author | Seán Hutton |
Instances of Publication
A published appearance of this poem.
| Collection/Anthology | Year of Publication | Medium | View Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seachrán Ruairí | 1986 | Print Collection | View Details |
Publication Instance Details #106
Collection/Anthology Details
| Collection/Anthology | Seachrán Ruairí |
|---|---|
| Date of Publication | 1986 |
| Publisher | Coiscéim (Ireland) |
| Page Number(s) | 33 |
Publication Overview
| Translation | Is Multilingual | Explicit Irish Context? | Ekphrasis | Has Paratext? | Reference to News, Media or Technology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Details
| Human Rights Issues | |
|---|---|
| Languages | |
| Genre | Short Lyric |
| Medium | Print Collection |
| Notes | The title of this poem makes reference to 'The Rights of Man', a 1791 publication by Thomas Paine that encouraged governments to safeguard the natural rights of their citizens. In this poem, the speaker describes and event in which an unnamed government minister in an unnamed country is kidnapped, tortured, and most likely assassinated. The politician is reading a newspaper in his home when he is assaulted by a uniformed group who kill his wife and child, kidnap him, and spirit him away by helicopter. The politician is tortured and beaten, and the strong implication is that he will be murdered. This also appears to be a state-sponsored kidnapping, as detectives are mentioned in the poem, who will swear such events never occurred. This poem could refer to the killing of opposition politicians in unstable regimes. |
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