“De Leeuw, die uit zijn banden schiet, Gedoogt den basterd Ad’laar niet” Representation and Perception of Napoleon Bonaparte in Dutch Pamphlets published in 1814, 1815 and 1821

Abstract

This thesis aims to establish how Napoleon was represented and perceived in Dutch poems published in the early nineteenth century. Several poems were subjected to close reading. A thorough analysis of the sources demonstrates that the representations of Napoleon put forward in 1814, 1815, 1821 was largely negative and made use of a variety of images. The Dutch perception of Napoleon was, in fact, much less positive than that of the French and British in the same period.