Parent Guide > A Satirical Elegy on the Death of a Late Famous General
Welcome to the parent guide for this text! Read below to find out about what your child is reading in class and how you can support him/her at home.
This week in class, we’re reading "A Satirical Elegy on the Death of a Late Famous General" by Jonathan Swift.
In this poem, Anglo-Irish essayist, writer, and political commentator Jonathan Swift uses satire to criticize John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough, an English soldier and statesman whom Swift stated as having "no one good quality in the world besides that of a general."
As we read, we will be discussing the themes of Comedy & Tragedy and Death as they relate to the text. We are trying to answer these big questions :
"How do people face death?" and "What can we learn from comedy?"
Ways to support your child:
-
Ask your child about this poem at home:
- What was "A Satirical Elegy on the Death of a Late Famous General" about?
- What did you learn about Comedy & Tragedy?
- What did you learn about Death?
- Watch John Churchill TV documentary 2003 at home with your child.