Sawney (poem)
| Sawney: An Heroic Poem. Occasion’d by the Dunciad | |
|---|---|
| by James Ralph | |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Satire |
| Publisher | Printed for the author |
| Publication date | 1728 |
| Lines | c. 300 (couplets) |
Sawney: An Heroic Poem. Occasion’d by the Dunciad is a verse satire published anonymously in London in March 1728 and generally attributed to James Ralph.[1][2] Written in rhymed heroic couplets, the poem attacks Alexander Pope’s literary pretensions and social elitism, parodying the mock‑epic manner of the 1728 Dunciad.[3]
Publication
[edit]The quarto imprint reads “Printed for the Author, and sold by J. Roberts.”[1] The title word “Sawney”—a common slur for a Scotsman—echoes Pope’s own derogatory use in The Dunciad. Contemporary advertisements priced the pamphlet at six‑pence.[4]
Content and themes
[edit]Ralph recasts Pope as “Sawney,” a self‑appointed arbiter who “counts the Muses for his private fold.” The poem blends personal invective with broader complaints about patronage and the metropolitan print market.[5]
Critical reception
[edit]Although the pamphlet appeared without an author’s name, Alexander Pope immediately ascribed it to Ralph in Book II of the 1729 Dunciad Variorum, calling him out as the “Ralph” who “to Cynthia howls.”[6]
Modern scholars view Sawney as Ralph’s opening shot in a decade‑long press war against Pope and the Scriblerians.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b ESTC 2025.
- ^ Kenny 1940, p. 221.
- ^ Okie 1967, p. 868.
- ^ Foxon 1991, p. 14.
- ^ Okie 1967, p. 869.
- ^ Pope 1729, p. 156.
- ^ McKinsey 1973, p. 62.
Sources
[edit]- ESTC (2025). "English Short‑Title Catalogue entry T47116 (Sawney)". British Library.
- Foxon, D. F. (1991). Pope and the Early Eighteenth-Century Book Trade. Clarendon Press. p. 14.
- Kenny, Robert W. (1940). "James Ralph: An Eighteenth-Century Philadelphian in Grub Street". The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. 64 (2): 218–242. JSTOR 20087279. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
- Okie, Laird (1967). "James Ralph's Political Career and Publications". Huntington Library Quarterly. 30 (4): 868–869.
- Pope, Alexander (1729). The Dunciad Variorum (1729). J. Wright. p. 156.
- McKinsey, Elizabeth R. (1973). "James Ralph: The Professional Writer Comes of Age". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 117 (1): 57–66. JSTOR 985948. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
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