Readify

Tower of London

The Man Who Laughs

The Tower of London appears as one endpoint of the restricted liberty attributed to England under Queen Anne: orators were put there, while writers were sent to the pillory. Its significance in the passage lies in this contrast between the language of liberty and the punishment of public expression.

The Tower as a Place of Confinement

The passage identifies the Tower of London as a place into which orators were put. It gives no individual cases or further description of confinement; the location functions instead as a concise reference to the punishment of speech.

Political Significance

Paired with the pillory, the Tower of London distinguishes two forms of repression: orators are confined, while writers are publicly punished. The comparison qualifies the claim that English people possessed liberty, presenting it as limited by institutions that could act against those who spoke or wrote.