Foot describes how Shelley , while living in Italy , heard the news of the Peterloo Massacre of 1819 . Like Shelley , Foot was an alumnus of University College , Oxford ( from which Shelley was expelled for expressing atheist views ) , and held the poet to be his inspiration in embracing socialism . " The Masque of Anarchy " , Foot 's favourite poem , was given to his sons to learn off by heart , and a live performance by Maxine Peake at the 2013 Manchester International Festival , to commemorate the anniversary of Peterloo was the basis of a BBC '' Culture Show '' documentary which referenced Foot 's work . Communist thinkers such as Karl Marx are known to have found inspiration in Shelley 's work . However , critics such as Christopher Hitchens have shed doubt on Foot 's interpretation of Shelley 's poetry , which " if one does n't chance to know its context may be as readily pressed into service by any movement "
Peterloo Massacre
Peterloo Massacre
Red Shelley