On November 20, 1815, the Quadruple Alliance was formed by Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia, following the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The alliance was a formal agreement among the four powers to maintain the territorial settlement established by the Congress of Vienna and to prevent future French aggression. Unlike the Holy Alliance, which was based on religious principles, the Quadruple Alliance was a practical military and political pact that provided for periodic meetings to address European affairs. It formed the basis of the Concert of Europe, which managed international relations for much of the 19th century.

The Quadruple Alliance and the Concert of Europe provided the backdrop for much of the political poetry and literature of the period, as writers responded to the conservative order that it sustained. Poets who championed liberal and nationalist causes criticized the alliance for stifling change and upholding reactionary regimes. The alliance also influenced the themes of internationalism and diplomacy in literary works, as writers grappled with the implications of a Europe governed by great power politics. The stability brought by the alliance allowed literature and the arts to flourish, even as it constrained political expression.