Swift chooses a traditional funeral song format to question the virtues of the general, and pour doubt upon his worth. It is written from the point of view of somebody present at the funeral (as demonstrated when the individual commands the generals to “Come hither, and behold your fate!”; they seem to be standing over the dead body of the general). The satirical content of the piece is highlighted by Swift’s choice of poetic form: whereas elegies are normally sombre, melancholy, mournful affairs, Swift has opted for a pacy poem with eight syllables per line (octosyllabic) to lift the mood into one of almost joyous celebration.[…]
