A Satirical Elegy on the Death of a Late Famous General

By Jonathan Swift

AABB rhyme scheme

replicates a military
march and emphasise
comedic moments in the
poem.

Many exclamatives
His
Grace! impossible! what dead!
satirical
Vocative mighty warrior highlight the
Of
old age too, and in his bed!
nature
of
the
poem
and his Grace! contrasts
And
could
that mighty warrior fall?
with the image presented
And so inglorious, after all!
to convey irony.

Well, since hes gone, no matter how,

The last loud trump must wake him now:
And, trust me, as the noise grows stronger,
Hed wish to sleep a little longer.
And could he be indeed so old
As by the newspapers were told?
Threescore, I think, is pretty high;
Twas time in conscience he should die
This world he cumbered long enough;
He burnt his candle to the snuff;
And thats the reason, some folks think,
He left behind so great a stink.
Behold
hiscan
funeral
Negators nor revealHearse
his
symbol
of death
be appears,
widows sighs,
norinorphans tears,
lack of popularity despite
contrastedNor
to marriage
hearse
Wont athow
suchthe
times
his military
London, showing
two each heart to pierce,
Attend
the and
progress
achievements.
institutions of
marriage
the of his hearse.
But what of that, his friends may say,
army are futile.
He had those honours in his day.
True to his profit and his pride,
Passive verb float reveals the view
He
made them weep before he died.
that these Generals do not contribute
Come
hither, all ye empty things,
to society, similar to the usurious
Ye bubbles raised by breath of kings;
hand in Holy Thursday, or the
Who float upon the tide of state,
blackening Church appals in
Come hither, and behold your fate.
London.
Let pride be taught by this rebuke,
How very mean a things a Duke;
From all his ill-got honours flung,
Turned to that dirt from whence he sprung.
The personal aside trust
me creates a
conversational tone that
emphasises his criticisms
of the General.

Death imagery and

metaphors are subverted
to reflect the unheroic
death of the General.

Ironic repeated use of the lexis

honours to perhaps
comment on hypocrisy of the
army; similar to the parents
worshipping the Church in
The Chimney Sweeper.

Themes: Social criticisms, social constructs, institutions

Blake poems: London, specific mentioning of soldiers and criticism of social
institutions.
Chimney Sweeper x2, reveals hypocrisy of institutions
Holy Thursday x2, criticism of institutions, moral behaviour, authority figures
disregard for those below them.
The Garden of Love, corruption of institutions and the individuals involved in
them.