London: A Poem in Imitation of the Third Satire of Juvenal

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1738

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

Cambria

Cambria is the Latinized version of Cymru, the Welsh name for Wales. Johnson uses the Latinized term in keeping with his imitation of the Latin Juvenalian satire. Similarly, Ireland is called Hibernia’s Land—Hibernia being what the ancient Greeks called Ireland in their accounts. The ancient names add authority to Thales’s veneration of these places, showing that they have a deep, meaningful history and have long offered rest and solace to Englishmen. In the poem, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland symbolize nature and a native (homegrown) essence, which is pure and honorable. For instance, Thales wishes to give up the parks and theatres of London for “the fair banks of Severn or of Trent” (Line 211). Severn, England’s longest river, flows through Wales, while Trent is another river far from London. The Severn and the Trent, emblematic of uncorrupted nature, are a relief from the corruption of the city.

Orgilio’s Palace

Orgilio appears twice in the poem, first in Line 84, and then in the description of Orgilio’s palace from Line 194 onwards. The name is derived from the French word orgueil, or pride, and identifies this stock character as a wealthy fraud. Some critics argue that Johnson may have intended Orgilio as a veiled reference to Robert Walpole, leader of the Whigs and the de facto Prime Minister of the day. Since Orgilio is a corrupt and successful individual, his misdeeds are ignored and even emulated.

The palace of Orgilio symbolizes the height of dishonesty and vice, since it is built using unfairly-earned wealth. If this palace burns, there would be public mourning—a reaction quite different from the apathy that greets the fires that break out in poor neighborhoods. Ironically, unlike the homes of the impoverished population which are never rebuilt, Orgilio’s palace would not only be quickly restored, but its resuscitation would be accomplished with “the price of boroughs and of souls” (Line 204), or the bribes that politicians offer to citizens (dwellers of boroughs) and clergymen (supposedly defenders of the soul) for their votes and support, respectively. The implication is that the money with which Orgilio/Walpole bought his votes and endorsements would be returned to him through donations by the same people, building him a new “golden pile” (Line 208). The golden pile is a symbol of excessive, tasteless wealth, as well as a scatological reference, since it suggests a pile of dung.

Courtiers and Patriots

The poem repeatedly refers to courtiers, a “hireling senator” (Line 213), and the “senatorian band” (Line 244). All of these terms allude to parliamentarians and Whig-party supporters, symbolizing corruption and a willingness to sell England to foreign powers. The courtiers are described as “silken” (Line 164), or slimy and superficial, fixated on appearance and luxury. They “explain their country’s dear-bought rights away, / And plead for pirates in the face of day” (Lines 53-54). “Pleading for pirates” is a reference to Walpole supporters who argued against a war with Spain, a country Johnson somewhat xenophobically associates with pirates, since Spanish coast guard ships supposedly attacked British vessels. In contrast to these courtiers, “patriots” (Line 52) like Thales critique the government to protect England. Johnson laments that people can be incited “to vote a patriot black, a courtier white” (Line 54), or to support the corrupt and oust the virtuous. In Line 219, Thales calls a senator a “venal Lord,” a phrase that shows that courtiers symbolize all that is wrong with Britain, while patriots—like Thales or Johnson himself—symbolize hope and a persecuted, virtuous minority.