An Elegy On A Lap-Dog Comments

John Gay has many voices- wry, satiric, gently humorous, romantic, unhappy, gleeful. His style changes with his attitude but his word choices are always perfect. Enjoyed Ian Fraser's comment below

Judging by the low scores submitted, this delicious poem is not well understood by modern readers. It is in a style called mock-heroic which was very popular among the 18th century satirists. Swift, a friend of Gay's, uses it extensively in Gulliver's Travels for example. In it seemingly trivial events, in this case the death of a pet dog are blown up out of all proportion to satirize their subject. Despite his teasing style Gay was capable of some very barbed criticism, as here in the final couplet, and his work was temporarily banned by the government of the day for its seditious content.