Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope mastered satire as a primary means of poetic communication. Swift's "Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift" is essentially his self-written obituary. With candid self-insight, Swift admits his flaws, his jealousies, his insecurities, and his egotisms. His characteristic tongue in cheek style belies the weight of the subject matter; he knew his death was immanent and at the most basic level wanted to pen something that displayed how he hoped to be remembered. Swift's friend Alexander Pope did not copy. However, Pope's "Epistle to Arbuthnot" is the obituary of his dear friend John Arbuthnot, who also happened to be a friend of Swift's. The "Epistle to Arbuthnot" is similar in tone and style to "Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift." Both poems are brash, humorous, sarcastic, and brutally honest. Although morbid in theme, the poems serve distinct literary functions. Pope and Swift mock death...
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