An Elegy on the Glory of Her Sex, Mrs. Mary Blaize — A Closer Reading

Ironic Praise and Contradictory Virtues

Goldsmith constructs Mrs. Blaize's character through a series of paradoxes. She 'freely lent to all the poor— / Who left a pledge behind,' suggesting charity that is not entirely disinterested. Her social graces are similarly double-edged: 'She strove the neighbourhood to please / With manners wondrous winning; / And never follow'd wicked ways— / Unless when she was sinning.' The rhyme of 'winning' with 'sinning' undercuts the praise, implying that her virtue is conditional. Even her piety is suspect: 'At church, in silks and satins new, / With hoop of monstrous size, / She never slumber'd in her pew— / But when she shut her eyes.' The final line transforms a denial of drowsiness into an admission of sleep, using the physical act of shutting eyes as a punchline.

The Mock-Elegiac Structure and Its Subversions

The poem follows the conventional elegy form—lament, praise, and consolation—but subverts each element. The lament is undercut by absurd details: her suitors include 'twenty beaux and more,' and 'The King himself has follow'd her— / When she has walk'd before.' The praise is undermined by the contradictions noted above. The consolation, typically a turn toward eternal reward, is replaced by a bathetic medical report: 'The Doctors found, when she was dead / Her last disorder mortal.' The final stanza offers a mock-consolation: 'That had she lived a twelvemonth more,— / She had not died to-day.' This circular logic parodies the genre's tendency to find meaning in death, reducing it to a tautology.

Cataloging Anomalies: Science Fiction & Utopias

The Project Gutenberg record categorizes this work under 'Science Fiction & Utopias,' a classification that bears no evident relation to the poem's content. The excerpts contain no speculative technology, future settings, or ideal societies. Instead, the poem is a humorous, satirical elegy set in contemporary 18th-century London (referencing Kent Street). This mismatch likely stems from cataloging conventions or errors, not from the text itself. Readers should approach the poem as a period piece of social satire, not as science fiction. The illustrations by Randolph Caldecott, known for his humorous children's books, further reinforce the comic tone, as noted in the publisher's advertisement describing his drawings as 'simply irresistible.'

Goldsmith's poem rewards attention to its verbal economy: each stanza delivers a compact joke or ironic reversal. The illustrations by Caldecott, though not reproduced in this text-only edition, were integral to the book's humor. Readers may wish to seek out a facsimile to see how the images interact with the verse. The poem's brevity makes it ideal for multiple readings, each revealing new layers of mockery.

Years after shelving Goldsmith’s sly little elegy and Caldecott’s gentle mockery, I find myself returning to Ireton, a Poem — Themes and Context with the same fond patience—both works whisper that our grandest postures are often best understood through quiet irony, not loud judgment. There is comfort in that shared, winking honesty.