No disorder developed except that caused by authorities, who ordered the rally disbanded immediately after speeches began. The speakers were arrested and the amateur guard made a general attack on the crowd. A cavalry charge cleared the field in 10 minutes, but resulted in 11 deaths and more than 400 wounded persons. An inquiry cleared the authorities, but public indignation earned the bloody outrage its ironic name, a bitter pun on Waterloo.
As a result of this tragic event, Shelley who, generally, opposed to the idea of the privileged and advocated freedom felt anguished. This is because this tragedy which was caused by the aristocrat took place and that innocent people were wounded just because of this revolutionary spirits. Then, as a poet, he reveals this barbaric situation to the world and roused people to fight for their rights. Here in this poem, the definition of the word "anarchy- is different from today's meaning. Shelley didn't actually talk about lawlessness. Instead he emphasized the chaos of tyranny. .
Stanzas 1-9: .
Hearing the violence English people were faced with, Shelley felt some power drove him to write poetry. Shelley told us about the appearance of Anarchy. He told us he met a masquerade of personified figures, consisting of Murder, Fraud, and Hypocrisy. Then, there came many more Destructions who were disguised in Bishops, lawyers, peers or spies. Finally, Anarchy arrived. Anarchy announced that he is God, King and Law. He personified all the bad qualities of rulers and tyranny in figures who were cruel, deceitful and fearful. Also, he mentioned three figures in the parliamentary reform at Peterloo: Castlereagh, Eldon and Sidmouth who paraded in an awful procession, murdering, deceiving, and wheedling while Britain dissolved into anarchy. Apparently, the poem starts with a furious attack on the Conservative administration in Britain. Overall, he intended to attack all of the ruling class and conventions.