Reading and writing literature helps us to reflect on our complicated and sometimes confusing existence in this big wide world. One popular way of doing this is using literature to make fun of others and ourselves! After all, in the wise words of Justin Bieber's (1994–present) 2014 tweet: 'if u can't laugh at yourself, you are not having fun'.1
Although you might not find it particularly fun if it was written about you, satirical poetry is one example of literature that mocks human behaviour. So, whether you want to identify satire or ridicule someone or something with your own poetic verses, here is the definition and purpose of satirical poetry, its different forms, and some examples.
Satirical poetry: definition
Broadly speaking, we can define 'satirical poetry' as the following:
Satirical poetry: a genre of poetry characterised by the use of satire to ridicule and critique individual or collective human behaviour.
So far, so good, but what do we mean by the word satirical?
We use the word 'satirical' to describe people or things that employ satire.
Satire: a method of ridiculing and critiquing individual or collective human behaviour through wit and humour.
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.
Remember! Don't get mixed up between satire, sarcasm, and irony – they all mean different things in literary studies:
- Satire is a literary genre used to ridicule and critique someone or something.
- Irony is a literary device used to ridicule and critique someone or something by drawing a contrast between expectations and reality.
- Sarcasm is a literary device used to ridicule and critique someone or something by saying one thing while knowing the opposite is clearly true.
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.
Did you know? Variations of the saying can be found across multiple languages. In English, it can be traced back to author and politician Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803–73), who was also known for his satirical works.
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:
- To amuse the reader
- To provide social commentary
- 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.
Keep in mind: even though these are two of the most well-known forms of satire, not every satirical poem has to be identified as either Horatian or Juvenalian. The word satire can be traced back to the Roman phrase lanx satura (fruit salad), reflecting the diversity of the genre and how difficult it can be to neatly categorise.
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
Let's look at 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.
What dire offence from am'rous causes springs,
What mighty contests rise from trivial things
('The Rape of the Lock: Canto 1', lines 1–2).
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.
Mock-epic: a style of satirical poetry also known as mock-heroic poetry. Mock-epics use features from the serious, grand narratives of classical epic poetry to trivialise their subjects in a humorous way.
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'.
London! the needy villain's gen'ral home,
The common shore of Paris and of Rome;
With eager thirst, by folly or by fate,
Sucks in the dregs of each corrupted state
(lines 93–96)
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.
Modern: in literary studies, modern literature refers to literature written in the 20th and 21st centuries.
'Interview' (1926)
'Interview' is a poem written by the American poet Dorothy Parker (1893–1967).
The ladies men admire, I've heard,
Would shudder at a wicked word.
Their candle gives a single light;
They'd rather stay at home at night.
They do not keep awake till three,
Nor read erotic poetry,
They never sanction the impure,
Nor recognise an overture.
They shrink from powders and from paints . . .
So far, I've had no complaints.
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:
At this moment in time we'd like to invite
First Class passengers only to board the aircraft.
Thank you for waiting. We now extend our invitation
to Exclusive, Superior, Privilege and Excelsior members
(lines 1–4)
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).
Food for thought: now you've seen some examples of modern satirical poetry, do you think that satire is still relevant in current times? Why or why not?
Satirical poetry - Key takeaways
- Satirical poetry is a genre of poetry characterised by the use of satire to ridicule and critique individual or collective human behaviour.
- Satirical poetry has three primary purposes: to amuse the reader, to provide social commentary, and to encourage reflection and change.
- Horatian and Juvenalian satire are two types of satirical poetry dating back to the Roman period.
- Alexander Pope's (1688–1744) 'The Rape of the Lock' (1712) is a famous example of a Horatian poem, and Samuel Johnson's (1709–84) 'London' (1738) is a famous example of a Juvenalian poem.
- Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) and Simon Armitage (1963–present) are considered modern satirical poets.
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.
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