A Satirical Elegy On The

Death Of A Late Famous

General
Literature project.
 Jonathan Swift

Info:
• Jonathan Swift was an Anglo-Irish author
who is regarded as one of the foremost
prose satirists in the history of English
literature. He wrote essays, poetry,
pamphlets, and a novel. He often published
anonymously or under pseudonyms,
including Isaac Bickerstaff, and is noted for
his use of ironic invented personas.
 Political background
• Jonathan Swift's "A Satirical Elegy on the Death of a Late Famous
General" was written in 1722 upon the death of the English general John
Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough. The poem was first published
formally in 1765, when it appeared in Jonathan Swift, Works, edited by
John Hawkesworth.
 Poem style
• 'A Satirical Elegy on the Death of a Late Famous General' by Jonathan
Swift ironically describes the life and death of a dishonourable, recently
deceased, duke. The poem begins with the speaker feigning surprise and
grief over the death of John Churchill, a duke. He died in his bed, without
glory.
 Poem info
• 'A Satirical Elegy on the Death of a Late Famous General' by Jonathan
Swift ironically describes the life and death of a dishonourable, recently
deceased, duke. The poem begins with the speaker feigning surprise and
grief over the death of John Churchill, a duke. He died in his bed, without
glory.
 Is elegy a satire?
• The elegy is written, according to its title, not on him but on his "Death."
Therefore the satire is not satirizing the general. The elegy itself, as a
literary form, is being satirized
The end