“A Description of the Morning” by Jonathan Swift (1709)

“A Description of the Morning” is Swift’s earliest published attempt at an urban pastoral. The poem shares many themes and satirical targets with 1710’s “A Description of a City Shower.” The earlier poem’s edge is not as developed as in “City Shower.” Some of the scenes in “Description of the Morning,” such as “Moll [who] had whirl'd her mop” in Line 7, seem to be precursors to those in “City Shower.” Comparing the two poems shows how Swift refined his take on the urban pastoral and the themes it is best suited to explore.

“The Lady’s Dressing Room” by Jonathan Swift (1732)

“The Lady’s Dressing Room” is an extreme example of Swift’s tendency to depict human beings as disgusting creatures. This poem comes much later in Swift’s writing career, as he was becoming more withdrawn and misanthropic. Like in “City Shower,” which depicts the waste products necessary to keep the illusion of the city alive, “Lady’s Dressing Room” claims to give an inventory of the grotesque items necessary to produce the illusion of beauty in a lady.

“The Reasons that induced Dr. Swift to Write a Poem Called ‘The Lady’s Dressing Room'" by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1734)