Poetry · Chapter
Corrected News explained
A satirical poem about a newspaper's sensationalized account of a maiden lady's reaction to a man in her room, contrasting the dramatic lie with the more mundane truth that she leapt into the room rather than out of it.
What happens
A satirical poem about a newspaper's sensationalized account of a maiden lady's reaction to a man in her room, contrasting the dramatic lie with the more mundane truth that she leapt into the room rather than out of it.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Self-Deception
The poem exposes the newspaper's deliberate lie about the maiden lady's actions, contrasting it with the truth.
Political Satire
Satirizes the unethical practices of journalists who lie for profit, linking to broader critiques of institutional corruption.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The narrator who corrects the newspaper's false account with the true version of events.
Key passages
“Alas, that lying is such a sin When newspaper men need bread and gin And none can be had for less than a lie!”
It's unfortunate that journalists resort to lying because they need money for basic necessities and can't get them without fabricating stories.
The narrator laments the economic pressures that drive newspapermen to dishonesty.
“For the maiden lady a bit gone-gray Saw the man in the room from across the way, And leapt, not out of the window but in— Ten fathoms sheer, as I hope to die!”
The elderly unmarried woman actually saw the man from a distance and jumped into the room, not out of it, a fall of sixty feet, as the narrator swears is true.
The corrected version of the story reveals the opposite action from what the newspaper reported.