To----

By George Gordon Byron

Satirical
1.     Oh! well I know your subtle Sex,     Frail daughters of the wanton Eve, -     While jealous pangs our Souls perplex,     No passion prompts you to relieve. 2     From Love, or Pity ne'er you fall,     By you, no mutual Flame is felt,     "Tis Vanity, which rules you all,     Desire alone which makes you melt. 3     I will not say no souls are yours,     Aye, ye have Souls, and dark ones too,     Souls to contrive those smiling lures,     To snare our simple hearts for you. 4     Yet shall you never bind me fast,     Long to adore such brittle toys,     I'll rove along, from first to last,     And change whene'er my fancy cloys. 5     Oh! I should be a baby fool,     To sigh the dupe of female art -     Woman! perhaps thou hast a Soul,     But where have Demons hid thy Heart?

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Poem Details

Language: English
Keywords: Public Domain
Source: Public Domain Collection
Rights/Permissions: Public Domain
Analysis & Notes:
In this unrhymed lyric, the speaker adopts a defensive, even combative stance toward the female sex, portraying women as manipulative and emotionally detached. The poem’s 25 lines unfold in a single, uninterrupted stanza, creating a relentless rhetorical assault that mirrors the speaker’s frustration. The absence of rhyme underscores the blunt, unvarnished tone, while the first-person perspective lends immediacy to the accusations. The speaker’s argument progresses from generalized condemnation to grudging acknowledgment of women’s agency, only to retreat into misogynistic suspicion. The final lines, questioning the very existence of female compassion, reveal the speaker’s inability to reconcile desire with distrust. This tension between attraction and revulsion defines the poem’s emotional core, culminating in a paradox: the speaker both craves and resents the very qualities he attributes to women. The poem’s power lies in its unflinching exposure of this psychological conflict, leaving the reader to confront the speaker’s unresolved ambivalence.

Understanding Satirical Poetry

Satirical poems use wit, irony, exaggeration, and ridicule to expose folly—personal, social, or political. The aim isn’t just laughter: it’s critique that nudges readers toward insight or change.

Common characteristics of satirical poetry:

  • Targeted Critique: Focuses on specific behaviors, institutions, or ideas—often timely, sometimes timeless.
  • Tools of Irony: Uses sarcasm, parody, understatement, and hyperbole to sharpen the point.
  • Voice & Persona: Speakers may be unreliable or exaggerated to reveal contradictions and hypocrisy.
  • Form Flexibility: Appears in couplets, tercets, quatrains, blank verse, or free verse—music serves the mockery.
  • Moral Pressure: Beneath the humor lies ethical pressure—satire seeks reform, not merely amusement.
  • Public & Personal: Can lampoon public figures and trends or needle private vanities and everyday pretenses.

The best satire balances bite with craft: memorable lines that entertain while revealing the gap between how things are and how they ought to be.