Poetry · Chapter
To “Colonel” Dan Burns explained
The speaker addresses 'Colonel' Dan Burns, dismissing his reputation as a kingmaker and comparing him to a Warwick, but ultimately labeling him an impostor and a human bubble that will vanish when pricked.
What happens
The speaker addresses 'Colonel' Dan Burns, dismissing his reputation as a kingmaker and comparing him to a Warwick, but ultimately labeling him an impostor and a human bubble that will vanish when pricked. The speaker suggests Burns's power is illusory and his influence over Markham is merely menial, advising him to abandon his ambition.
Themes in this chapter
Political Satire
The poem satirizes Dan Burns's self-importance and political influence, mocking his role as a supposed kingmaker and reducing him to a mere attendant pushing a politician in a wheelchair.
Deception and Self-Deception
Burns is portrayed as an impostor and a 'human bubble,' suggesting his power and reputation are deceptive and will ultimately be exposed as hollow.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The speaker who addresses and criticizes Dan Burns.
Key passages
“They say, my lord, that you’re a Warwick. Well, / The title’s an absurd one, I believe: / You make no kings, you have no kings to sell, / Though really ’twere easy to conceive / You stuffing half-a-dozen up your sleeve.”
People call you a kingmaker, but that's ridiculous—you don't create or trade kings, though it's easy to imagine you hiding several up your sleeve.
The speaker dismisses Burns's reputation as a Warwick-like kingmaker, using sarcasm to undermine his claimed influence.
“No, Dan, you’re an impostor every way: / A human bubble, for “the earth,” you know, / “Hath bubbles, as the water hath.” Some day / Some careless hand will prick your film, and O, / How utterly you’ll vanish!”
You are a complete fraud, a fragile bubble on the earth's surface; one day someone will pop you, and you'll disappear completely.
The speaker compares Burns to a bubble, emphasizing his fragility and the inevitability of his exposure as a fraud.