by Coleridge · Cluster: Satire of Society · Epigram · Satire
Abstract
A literary-satirical epigram (after Wernicke) mocking ‘Mævius’, a vain bad poet who reads his hobbling verse to all, ‘an ass without an ear.‘
Connections
Motifs: Animals Themes & Concepts: Literary Criticism (2), Vanity, Satire of Society Forms & Genres: Epigram
Testo integrale / Full text
Hoarse Mævius reads his hobbling verse
To all and at all times,
And deems them both divinely smooth,
His voice as well as rhymes.
But folks say, Mævius is no ass!
But Mævius makes it clear
That he’s a monster of an ass,
An ass without an ear.
First published in Morning Post, Sept. 7, 1799. Included in An.
Anth., 1800; Keepsake, 1829, p. 122; Lit. Rem., i. 49. First
collected P. and D. W., 1877, ii. 162. Adapted from Wernicke’s
Epigrams, Bk. IX, No. 42. An einen gewissen Pritschmeister. ‘Umsonst
dass jedermann, dieweil du manches Blatt.’