Jonathan Swift Misogynistic Poetry Essay

The horrors of Swift’s scatology poetry has had profound effects on countless who have read it. Each of his unvarnished pieces leaves individuals exposed to a reality that society readily denies. Yet it is only recently that Swift has no longer been charged with “perversity, morbidity, and misogyny.” Today, these types of poetry emphasize the “moral approach,” but do not always address the author’s “heavy reliance in ‘The Lady’s Dressing Room’ and ‘A Beautiful Young Nymph’ on filth, deformity, and foul orders” (Sena 347). Due to this failure, many are left believing that Swift’s terrible depiction of women must be linked to his misogyny. However, while many critics accuse Jonathan Swift of misogynistic works, in two of his better-known …show more content…
Through this, Swift is able to comment on two separate components of the poem for he is both once again exposing the distance between the Gods and mortals as well as clarifying who this poem is criticizing. Due to the oral history of ancient myths, there are often numerous tellings that exist. By Swift choosing the retelling that has Epimetheus, the husband of Pandora, being overcome with curiosity and releasing “human evils,” he is clearly insinuating who is guilty in this poem. This continues until the end of the poem: “He soon would learn to think like me,/ And bless his ravished sight to see/ Such order from confusion sprung,/ Such gaudy tulips raised from dung” (lns 141-144). Although some critics do use the close of the poem to support the argument of the misogynistic nature of the piece, it is clear that he is still placing the blame on Strephon. The narrator is actively disagreeing with him and wishes to educate him on this fact: “He soon would learn to think like me.” Additionally, he is applying reason to the disagreement, since women both applied excrement to themselves in their beautification and produced it themselves. Yet nonetheless, Swift recognizes that they are still beautiful, mortal creatures. Swift’s dependency on both truth telling …show more content…
Women’s inability to admit to their humanity removed their subjectivity and allowed men to demand unattainable standards of them. Additionally, Swift also reveals the similarities of women of different classes. Regardless of their social status or natural appearance, all were demanded to apply countless substances and deny their flaws existence. Only through the descriptives horrors and inclusion of the unmentionables are able to achieve such impactful social commentary that is characteristic of scatology