An Exercise in Satire

In the interest of posterity, I’ve decided to post a brief exercise in satire that was scribed (albeit hastily) by myself during a recent class lecture. So, without further ado…

Work for Writers -or- A Written Critique of the Poetic Form
by Ame Penn

We are told of the destroyer Dryden,
whom in creationism he supposedly abides in,
but engaged in the heresy of poetry was he,
that not was made ‘cept faux civility.
For this I say is due to naught
anything handy, but rather what is brought
upon the heads of those poets themselves
whom engage in written follies, those ne’er-do-wells!
Poetry cannot begin to obtain
the depth and respectability detained
by superior prose, written at length
in epic format, describing with strength.
The false art of poesy fails,
in this regard to spark imaginations and dwells
nowhere in the culture of art,
given from magnificent prose it is apart.

At first glance one can easily determine the blatant irony of this work, in so far that although it being a supposed "critique" on poetry it is written in poetic verse. I had hoped that this format would lend an aloof aura to he work and coincide nicely with my attempt at satire. Besides, given the limit amount of time I had to create this work, poetry is quicker to write than prose.

The intentional satirical jabs (or attempts thereof) are perhaps not as easily seen by the reader. Some may also find it of interest that the work is artistically labeled as being written by Ame Penn. The name, simply, is a rearrangement of the moniker, ‘pen name’. Obviously the first line cities John Dryden, but not in the traditional sense and certainly against his own theme of creationism through writing.

Lines four and eight allude to poets being uncivilized ne’er-do-wells. Reality dictates otherwise, however, as often the case was the poets were among the well-to-do upper class of a society or failing that at least respected and considered to be civilized and intelligent. Poetry’s more descriptive and expressive qualities are flamed in lines ten and fourteen, implying that poetry is nondescipt and perhaps a bit irksome.

One of the main articles of satire in the work can be found in lines nine through twelve, wherein a false argument for prose is made using epic literature as support. Odd though, that a good deal of the classical epics known to us (i.e. Beowulf, the Epic of Gilgamesh, Homer’s Odyssey, and Dante’s La Divina Comedia to name a few) are not written in a prose format, but rather utilize some type of poetic verse.

Finally, the satirical blow is struck in the last four lines of the piece. Essentially the lines read to the effect that poetry has no place in artistic culture, a rather ludicrous statement given that poetry is as old as prose and was (debatably) the more popular form of literary expression during many time periods.

Hopefully this little diversion of mine served to do more than soak up the reader’s spare time. If you have comments, please feel free to leave them.