Satirical Poetry

Satirical poetry: definition

Broadly speaking, we can define 'satirical poetry' as a genre of literature that uses wit, irony, sarcasm, and ridicule to criticize or mock societal follies, vices, and shortcomings. It is often intended to bring about improvement or reform through such critical humour. Satirical poetry has been a powerful tool for social commentary throughout history, allowing poets to express dissent and provoke thought about prevailing norms and practices

So far, so good, but what do we mean by the word satirical? Satirical refers to the use of satire, a literary technique that employs humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other societal issues. Satirical works are often marked by a biting wit and a clear intent to provoke thought, challenge the status quo, and potentially instigate change.

In other words, we use the word 'satirical' to describe people or things that employ satire.

Now that you know what satire is, you'll find it is everywhere in popular culture: in the memes you exchange with your friends and in popular TV shows such as The Simpsons (1989–present).

Fig. 1 - While satire may make us laugh, it also intends to make us think deeply about ourselves and the society in which we live.

Satire as a literary genre

Satire has deep roots within literature. So deep, in fact, that the word 'satire' is the name of an entire literary genre dedicated to showing humans their flaws and follies through wit, humour, exaggeration, sarcasm, and irony. Although satire is a broad literary genre that encompasses all types of literature, this article will focus on poetry as a vehicle for delivering satire.

Purpose of satirical poetry

Have you ever heard of the saying, 'the pen is mightier than the sword'? It highlights the power of written communication as a better alternative to violence. This saying is also usually associated with the power of satire, which often focuses on the heated topics of politics, religion, culture, and the economy.

In literature, satire, including satirical poetry, is thought of as a 'mighty' genre because it aims to instigate change, often by making a person, a group, a thing, or an idea look so silly, they lose their reputation.

As a result, we can say that satirical poetry has three primary purposes:

1. To amuse the reader
2. To provide social commentary
3. To encourage reflection and change

Satirical forms of poetry

Satire is one of the oldest literary genres, dating at least as far back as the Roman period (626 BCE–476 CE). The Roman intellectual and literary critic Quintilian (c. 35–c. 100) declared 'that in satire as a whole the Romans were unrivalled'².

During this time, the Romans divided satire into different types, including Horatian, Juvenalian, and Menippean satire. As the Menippean satire is known as a prose rather than a poetic form,³ we will focus on Horatian and Juvenalian forms of poetry.

Horatian satire

If someone writes a Horatian satire about you, you're probably not going to cry. Horatian satire is named after the Roman lyric poet Horace (65–8 BCE). Horace wrote lighthearted, witty, and tolerant satires that gently pooh-poohed their subjects rather than tearing them down with wrath.

Juvenalian satire

Unlike Horatian satire, Juvenalian satire is dark, angry, bitter, and more challenging to recover from. Juvenalian satire is named after the Roman poet Juvenal. Juvenal lived during the first and second centuries and used satire to express his disillusionment with Roman society.

Fig. 2 - When someone has written poetry about you... But you find out it's a Juvenalian satire.

Satirical poetry examples

Satirical poetry has a rich tradition with many notable works. Some examples of satirical poetry include:

• 'The Rape of the Lock' (1712) by Alexander Pope
• 'Don Juan' (1821) by Lord Byron
• The Canterbury Tales (1400) by Geoffrey Chaucer (some parts)
• The Satires (AD 100-127) by Juvenal
• 'Mac Flecknoe' (1682) by John Dryden

Let's look further into two famous examples of Horatian and Juvenalian poems.

Horatian poem: 'The Rape of the Lock' (1712)

Divided into five parts or 'cantos', 'The Rape of the Lock' by the English poet Alexander Pope (1688–1744) is a famous example of a Horatian poem.

The poem satirises the superficiality of the London upper classes by describing the events leading up to a great rift between two wealthy families in a mock-epic style.

Across the five cantos of the poem, a lock of hair is stolen from a beautiful young woman at a social gathering. An epic battle ensues, followed by demands for the lock of hair to be returned. The lock of hair is never found, although some say that it shot up into heaven to become a treasured star.

Juvenalian poem: 'London' (1738)

The poem 'London' (1738) by the English writer Samuel Johnson (1709–84) is an example of Juvenalian satirical poetry. In fact, Johnson introduces the poem as an 'Imitation of the Third Satire of Juvenal'.

Written around the first century, Juvenal's 'Satire III' tells the tale of Umbricius, who is leaving Rome to go and live in the countryside, where he hopes to have a happier life. In 'London', Johnson adapts this story to a contemporary context as the poem's speaker provides satirical social commentary on dirty, immoral London before boarding a boat to seek 'refuge to the wilds of Kent' (line 257).

Modern satirical poetry

Today, it's not hard to find current opinions that 'satire is dead' and that the time of Pope and Swift was the Golden Age of satire. For some, many aspects of society are already so outlandish that they satirise themselves, and how can you write satire about things that are already accepted as ridiculous but continue anyway? However, despite the naysayers, biting works of modern satirical poetry continue to be written and read. Here are some examples.

'Interview' (1926)

'Interview' is a poem written by the American poet Dorothy Parker (1893–1967).

In this short poem, the author satirises stereotypical ideas about the ideal housewife. After listing some of the various things an 'ideal housewife' would never do, the speaker suggests that she doesn't conform to these standards but gets along fine anyway.

The poem highlights the superficiality of gender roles and how, behind closed doors, many people actually don't care about them. The title, 'Interview', emphasises this by pointing to how people present a 'perfect' version of themselves in a job interview that doesn't necessarily match reality.

'Thank You for Waiting' (2017)

'Thank You for Waiting' is a poem written by the English poet Simon Armitage (1963–present). The poem presents a scathing satire on the stark class divisions visible in everyday life and the dehumanising ways people are given or denied societal value.

The poem reads like an airport announcement that first declares:

The announcer then continues to exaggerate the different groups that passengers are sorted into during the boarding process, from the 'Accredited Beautiful People' (line 13) to the 'Mediocre passengers' (line 40), until the 'Ash, Pus, Sludge, Clinker, Splinter and Soot . . . are now free to board. (lines 51–3).

¹ Justin Bieber. 'If u can't laugh at yourself you are not having fun. Don't take things so serious. Smile'. Twitter. 17 July 2014.

² J. W. H. Atkins. 'Quintilian'. Literary Criticism in Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. 1934.

³ Northrop Frye. 'Fourth Essay. Rhetorical Criticism: Theory of Genres'. Anatomy of Criticism. Princeton University Press. 1957.