Poetry · Chapter
Fleet Strother explained
A brief satirical verse questioning the relationship between a person and the Capitol, suggesting that the person was born in its shadow and playfully reversing the expected relationship between the individual and the institution.
What happens
A brief satirical verse questioning the relationship between a person and the Capitol, suggesting that the person was born in its shadow and playfully reversing the expected relationship between the individual and the institution.
Themes in this chapter
Political Satire
The verse mocks the relationship between an individual and the Capitol, a symbol of political power, using irony and reversal.
Key passages
“What! you were born, you animated doll, Within the shadow of the Capitol? ’Twas always thought (and history so assures Its trusting readers) it was reared in yours.”
The speaker expresses surprise that the person was born near the Capitol, since history had led people to believe the Capitol was built in the person's shadow instead.
The paraphrase captures the ironic reversal of the expected relationship between the individual and the Capitol.