From Horace to Huxley, Hogarth to Pope, Molière to Brass Eye’s Chris Morris, misanthropy has peppered, with satire’s salty garnish, some of the finest moments in all literature, art, theatre, film and television, let alone music. Yet the golden age of misanthropy was perhaps also the golden age of satire - the 17th century, during which many protagonists sharpened their wits. And, often in a throwback to last week’s theme, their swords. One of the sharpest wielder of blades was poet, John Dryden, who detailed the finer points of highlighting human failings in his Discourse concerning the Origin and Progress of Satire (1693). His particular concern was on the very craft of character assassination.
How easie is it to call Rogue and Villain, and that wittily! But how hard to make a Man appear a Fool, a Blockhead, or a Knave, without using any of those opprobrious terms! There is still a vast difference betwixt the slovenly Butchering of a Man, and the fineness of a stroke that separates the Head from the Body, and leaves it standing in its place.
Now for a little modern misanthropy, supremely lambasting the modern media in Chris Morris’s Brass Eye. A bittersweet pill to swallow.
But which of all verbal swordsman could most skilfully make that cut and leave the head on its shoulders? In song there will be many candidates, but for my money among the greatest influences on writers of all kinds, including song lyricists, is Jonathan Swift. He fooled and outraged an entire nation with his essay, A Modest Proposal on remedying the Irish famine problem with cannibalism (did they not realise he was a cleric from Dublin?) but Gulliver’s Travels remains his masterpiece.
Often referred to only as a fantasy novel, TV dramatisations tend to centre upon the lumbering Gulliver’s visit to the land of the tiny but fierce Lilliputians. But Swift plays upon extremes of perspective in the other three volumes that make up the novel. In the second, Gulliver is the miniature among the giant Brobdingnagians. I remember first reading what seemed a highly erotic scene of Gulliver dangled on the giant bare breasts of ladies in waiting, and then the extraordinary switch of perception, when he saw the giant pockmarks of skin in closeup. Then, in book 3, being enthralled by the absurdity of the scientists in Laputa, who, for example, tried to extract sunbeams from cucumbers. Finally the fourth and most profound book, where Gulliver’s shameful realisation he is but a naked, hairy Yahoo in a land of higher beings - the horse race known as the Houyhnhnms. One phrase from ealier in the novel resonates: “I cannot but conclude that the Bulk of your Natives, to be the most pernicious Race of little odious Vermin that Nature ever suffered to crawl upon the Surface of the Earth.”
Misanthropy is also a creature of contradiction. It is defined as the hatred and distrust of human nature, and yet those who express it, often with much passion and invention, also betray a love. And the opposite of love is not hatred, its close bedfellow, but indifference. So misanthropic songs may be charged by by both forces, perhaps from spurned love, or hurtful disconnection from society. Their therapy is to play on the frailties of others and themselves, often with dark humour. Feel free to suggest songs that are misanthropic throughout, or in key moments.
This week, who better to size up these elements of human frailty than that returning RR force of nature - Fuel? Put forward your nominations in comments below (and also the Spotify playlist if you like) by last orders (11pm BST) on Monday 8 September for Fuel’s list to be published on Thursday 11 September. Our weaknesses are also our strengths.
To increase the likelihood of your nomination being considered, please:
• Tell us why it’s a worthy contender.
• Quote lyrics if helpful, but for copyright reasons no more than a third of a song’s words.
• Provide a link to the song. We prefer Muzu or YouTube, but Spotify, SoundCloud or Grooveshark are fine.
• Listen to others people’s suggestions and add yours to a collaborative Spotify playlist.
• If you have a good theme for Readers recommend, or if you’d like to volunteer to compile a playlist, please email peter.kimpton@theguardian.com
• There’s a wealth of data on RR, including the songs that are “zedded”, at the Marconium. It also tells you the meaning of “zedded”, “donds” and other strange words used by RR regulars.
• Many RR regulars also congregate at the ‘Spill blog.
