Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Frederick Louis MacNeice's "Ballade in a Bad Temper" is a sharply satirical and bitter critique of various authority figures and societal norms. The poem employs the traditional form of a ballade, with its characteristic refrain and envoi, yet subverts the form by filling it with biting commentary and disdain. MacNeice uses the ballade's structure to rhythmically build up his grievances, leading to the repetitive and dismissive refrain: "You know what you can do with that!" This refrain underscores the poet's rejection of the figures and practices he criticizes, adding a personal and almost conversational tone to the piece.

The poem opens by addressing "Gentlemen who boss the age," a phrase that immediately sets a tone of derision. The list that follows—"Magistrate, magnate, editor, / Greasy priest and crooked sage, / Field Marshal and Prime Minister"—is a roll call of those in power, each role loaded with the connotations of authority, corruption, and control. MacNeice's choice of adjectives such as "greasy" and "crooked" highlights his disdain for these figures, suggesting they are not only powerful but also morally compromised.

MacNeice's attack is not limited to those in overt positions of power; he also targets those who support and perpetuate the status quo. The "hacks who line the stage / To lick their boots and call them ‘Sir,’" are depicted as sycophants, complicit in the oppression of the masses by their willingness to defer to authority without question. The metaphor of their "only habitat a cage" suggests that their compliance has imprisoned them, stripping them of true freedom or agency.

The poet's ire extends to the "Moderates," who he accuses of political cowardice and opportunism. These individuals "assuage / Their anger with a gentle purr" and "lying low attempt to gauge / The way the weathercock will stir," implying they are more concerned with their own survival and comfort than with taking a stand for what is right. MacNeice accuses them of having "sold [their] birthright for a fat / Mess of pottage," a Biblical allusion to Esau selling his inheritance for a meal, indicating a betrayal of principle for immediate, but ultimately trivial, gain.

The envoi, traditionally a concluding stanza that addresses the poem's recipient, here turns its focus on a "philanthropic sir," a figure who is ostensibly charitable but is, in fact, as self-serving as the rest. The image of someone "Ready to skin the alley cat / If anyone could buy the fur" captures the hypocrisy of those who disguise their greed under the guise of benevolence.

Overall, "Ballade in a Bad Temper" is a forceful denunciation of authority, hypocrisy, and moral compromise. MacNeice's use of the ballade form, with its fixed rhyme scheme and repetitive refrain, serves to emphasize the relentless nature of his critique. The refrain, "You know what you can do with that!" becomes a powerful dismissal, rejecting not only the figures and behaviors criticized throughout the poem but also the societal structures that uphold them. Through this poem, MacNeice delivers a message of resistance against conformity and corruption, urging readers to question and, where necessary, reject the dictates of those in power.

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