‘Tis not true reason I despise, but yours’: The Influence of the Civil War ‘Satire against’ Verse Form (1640s) on the Restoration ‘Pamphlet War’ of 1679-81

Abstract

Individuals writing on the cusp of civil war show a readiness to take advantage of the print medium to circulate a suite of 'Satire against...' verses, intended for political instruction of 'the people', and incitement to action. Rochester's reinvigoration of this form in the 1670's, with his 'Satire against reason and mankind', articulates resistance to religious hegemony, and signals his primacy as a key satiric commentator of the era. The subsequent release of this poem as a broadside in 1679 marks the start of years of 'pamphlet war' in which the battle for literary and political authority rages.