Alf’s 4. Bit
Alf’s 4. Bit - context Summary
Parodying Literary Figures
This short satirical poem lampoons a literary figure named Rudyard and the social attitudes he represents. Pound ridicules mawkish glory, deference to authority, and militaristic respectability, portraying them as boot-licking and hypocritical. Its voice mimics dialect and colloquial speech to mock patriotic and class-based values. The piece belongs to a series in which Pound parodies and critiques other poets and literary figures, exposing their moral and artistic failures.
Read Complete AnalysesRudyard the dud yard, Rudyard the false measure, Told 'em that glory Ain't always a pleasure, But said it wuz glorious nevertheless To lick the boots of the bloke That makes the worst mess. Keep up the grand system Don't tell what you know, Your grandad got the rough edge. Ain't it always been so ? Your own ma' warn't no better Than the Duchess of Kaugh. My cousin's named Baldwin An' 'e looks like a tofft You 'ark to the sargent, And don't read no books; Go to God like a sojer; What counts is the looks.
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