Whim and Whipping: Satire and the Great Reform Act in Scottish Periodical Poetry

Abstract

This article examines the use of the satirical mode in periodical political poetry dedicated to the issue of parliamentary reform c. 1832. Contributing to critical discussions on the development of British satire in the nineteenth century, the article, by demonstrating the continued presence and significance of satirical poetry in the Scottish periodical press, reveals that the genre did not die out or become diluted across Britain in the 1830s. By examining three examples of Scottish satiric periodicals that took differing positions on the issue of reform–The Scots Times, Glasgow Punch and The Ten Pounder–a cross-section of the various satirical responses to the reform and anti-reform campaigns is provided. It becomes clear that different political camps and periodicals were not only using the satirical mode in Scotland but actively competing to produce the most scurrilous satirical verse, and that certain Scottish satirical titles were key antecedents to Punch, or The London Charivari.