There are several approaches you COULD take to developing a broad-strokes
understanding of the context. I found it instructive to - scan the
shelves where books on Shelley can be found in abundance
- look for
titles that seem to have something to do with analysis of Shelley's life
and proclivities
- look up 'England 1819' in the indexes of books that
looked interesting (this required that I take note of the FORM of the
poem --it's technically known as "xxx England 1819" where the xxx is its
form...)
You might also delve into Shelley's biography
--the DNB article is extensive but hagiographical; the DLB gives a better
picture of what was going in in Shelley's mind and life in the years
around the time of the composition of "England 1819".
Another approach might be more historical, and could begin with the
History section in our Reference collection.
- World History (REF
D9.W47 1994) gives a quick sketch of events during the year; a glance
back a few years will take you to something about Corn Laws and Reform,
and in 1819 you'll see something about the Peterloo Massacre. These
things are connected and relevant.
- The People's Chronology (REF
D11.T83) offers another view of the same years and events.
You could also wonder WHO was King in 1819... and it was George III (he
of "The Madness of King George"), but
he died in 1820. You could look into what the end of his reign was like
by hunting for biographies of him... and so on.