Sasha Clark's Canonball

Gossip is a practice that many deny to have taken part in. The truth is that people are guilty of spreading rumors or discussing others’ misfortunes (incognito) at least once in their lives. Such chitchat may be frowned upon in today’s society, but in the time of poetess Jane Taylor, high society women considered it to be a sport. Taylor disapproved of such a ruthless activity. Her satirical poem, “Recreation” (1816) mocked such women whose pretentiousness was masked as concern when discussing people of the lower class. It was a sardonic yet poignant exposure of the cruel behavior that upper class ladies displayed toward those whom they believed were beneath them, and showed an ironic contrast between the supposed “polite and refined” upper class women versus what they actually were: condescending snobs.

The opening stanzas began ordinarily enough: a mother and her daughter visited their neighbor’s home to partake in a cup of tea. The hostess, Mrs. G., politely greeted the two ladies, and they briefly exchanged small talk. However, toward the end of the third stanza, the narrator warned the reader that the discussion was about to get more scandalous. She stated that in the presence of Mrs. G’s home “We find it there the wisest way/ To take some care of what we say.” (p. 844, lines 22-23) The language of that particular line depicted a tone of caution and mistrust the narrator felt toward Mrs. G., which foreshadowed her devious character. It also hinted at the idea that Mrs. G might not be the proper and respectful woman of her social standing that others assumed her to be.

Mrs. G. casually discussed several people as the poem progressed. Her comments on each person appeared to be casual on the surface; however, there were underlying tones of malice detected in her speech. When the subject of the widower Miss A, for example, was brought to attention, the narrator asked if she was still handsome. Mrs. G. had nothing civil to say in response. Rather, she chose to comment on her mourning clothes with the seemingly innocent inquiry, “‘But is it not uncommon mean/To wear a rusty bombazeen?’” (p. 844, lines 42-43) Mrs. G. implied with the word “uncommon” that Miss A was re-wearing mourning garb, since it was her second husband who had passed. It was clear that she was subtly frowning upon the previous marriages of Miss A and her old mourning clothes via that statement. Her comment also implied that anyone who followed similar actions of Miss A was below her rank in society and therefore unworthy of her approval and acceptance.

Another important subject of the conversation involved Miss F. The narrator politely noted her youthful appearance and overall beauty, but Mrs. G. begged to differ. She remarked, “‘She’ll not see twenty-nine again…. A beauty! O, my dear Miss B. /You must be joking now,’ says she, ‘Her figure’s rather pretty,’…” (p. 845, lines 69-76) The demeaning tone Mrs. G used to imply that Miss F had lost both her looks and her youth acted as a further emphasis of her superiority. Her voice was the dominant of the three characters; with every comment that either the narrator or her mother made about a particular person, she quickly followed with a lofty and judgmental comment, which thus became the final word on the subject. Miss F was further judged when the narrator commented on her generosity towards the poor. Mrs. G. expressed her distrust toward Miss F’s charitable deeds with the snide remark, “‘You know some people like to pass/For patrons with the lower class.’” (p. 845, lines 88-89)

That was the most offensive statement of all. It implied that Miss F was above the poor people due to her wealth and high social rank, but because she visited them and tried to help them with acts of charity, she was stooping to their level. Mrs. G.’s blunt response was so shocking that it caused the narrator to physically put a break the poem with her own commentary. It was the first moment throughout the entire piece that a strong opinion, other than Mrs. G.’s, was given. She described that it went, “like a cordial to my heart.” (p. 844, line 93) The narrator knew that what Mrs. G. said was unjust, and felt personally attacked on Miss F’s behalf.

The importance of this passage was that for the first time, another opinion was voiced as opposed to just Mrs. G.’s judgments. However, that opinion was only shared with the reader and not Mrs. G. herself, which meant that she was still in control of the conversation. It was a disappointing element of the poem; the narrator could have stood up to Mrs. G. and defended Miss F, but that does not occur. Instead, the narrator chose to keep her thoughts to herself.

Then, as quickly as the poem was broken apart by the narrator’s commentary, it pieced itself back together again in the stanza that followed. Mrs. G. discussed one final scandal with the narrator and her mother; the story was so outrageous, in fact, that the poem did not even describe it. Instead, it focused on the reactions of the narrator and her mother as Mrs. G. told the tale. Taylor personified the gossip as a powerful drug in the poem. Both women hungered for it, yet were simultaneously depressed after hearing it. They claimed that they did “enjoy the sport!” (p. 845, line 110) and treated the scandal like a harmless game. Nevertheless, afterward they admitted that they “were sated, almost sick.” (p. 845, line 115) That sick feeling was their consciences. It was their gut feelings that reminded them how wrong gossiping was, regardless of how much satisfaction they felt when they participated in it. Yet, they did not act upon those feelings. Their pleasure at receiving such juicy and entertaining hearsay from Mrs. G. usurped their inner reactions of guilt. Therefore, both women ended up just as responsible for partaking in the cruel gossip as Mrs. G. was for spreading it. Jane Taylor chose the poem’s title, “Recreation” for a reason. The actual definition of recreation was something done for fun, amusement or leisure. Therefore, the poem’s title was ironic because the activity that was done for enjoyment was wickedly putting down those in the lower class.

Taylor’s satirical piece was significant to British Romantic Literature because it revealed the unkind nature of upper class women (from a woman’s point of view) in a darkly humorous style. In a way, Taylor herself stood up to all three characters by mocking their so-called refined mannerisms and turning Mrs. G.’s unjust comments into snobbish, silly statements. Moreover, Taylor’s poem defended the lower class, and used wit and irony as a sword and shield so that ultimately, for the high society women, the joke was on them.