nd "Essay on Man," Young's "Night Thoughts," Johnson's
"Vanity of Human Wishes," Cowper's "Task," Akenside's "Pleasures of the
Imagination," Rogers's "Pleasures of Memory," Campbell's "Pleasures of
Hope," Wordsworth's "Excursion," and Pollok's "Course of Time."

(1) _Satire_ is a species of didactic poetry. It is the use of wit,
irony, and sarcasm to ridicule foibles, vices, or evils of any kind.
Three kinds of satire may be distinguished: _personal_ satire, which is
directed against individuals, and usually springs from malignant or
unworthy motives; _partisan_ satire, which aims to make an opposing
party or sect odious; and _social_ satire, which seeks to improve the
manners or morals of society. Dryden, himself a master of the dangerous
art, says,--

"Satire has always shone among the rest,
And is the boldest way, if not the best,
To tell men freely of their faintest faults,
To laugh at their vain deeds and vainer thoughts."

The mood of satire may be various: it may be genial and pleasant; it may
be earnest and just; or it may be personal, unjust, and malicious. Any
species of satire may exhibit keenness of wit, but satire reaches its
highest excellence only when it springs from upright motives and
confines itself to truth. If there is exaggeration or caricature, as is
generally the case, there still must be a substantial basis of fact. No
amount of intellectual brilliancy or artistic skill can justify what is
false and slanderous.

Satirical poetry is very old. Aristophanes, Juvenal, Horace were
distinguished satirists of antiquity. Satire is found in almost every
period of English literature. Among our well-known satires are Butler's
"Hudibras," Dryden's "Mac Flecknoe" and "Absalom and Achitophel," Pope's
"Dunciad," Byron's "English Bards and Scotch Reviewers" and "Waltz,"
Lowell's "Fables for Critics," Moore's "Fudge Family in Paris," and not
a few others.

(2) _Descriptive poetry_, or the _nature epic_, as it has been called,
may be classed under didactic poetry. It is devoted to the description
not of successive events but of successive scenes in nature. It is sober
and reflective in character. Beginning with Chaucer, who delights in May
time and the daisies, nature occupies a prominent place and displays an
ever-unfolding richness in English poetry. Pope's "Windsor Forest" is an
elaborate though artificial piece of description. Milton's "L'Allegro"
and "Il Penseroso" are nature pic