Hudibras

Butler (1613-80) was a poet and satirist best remembered for his long satirical poem Hudibras. This mock-heroic narrative poem is a satirical polemic upon Roundheads, Puritans, Presbyterians and many of the other factions involved in the English Civil War. According to the title page, the work was begun during the war and published in three parts in 1663, 1664 and 1678, with the first edition encompassing all three parts appearing in 1684. Published only four years after the restoration of Charles II, and Cromwell’s Protectorate completely over, the poem found an appreciative audience. As Butler was fiercely royalist, his satire is not balanced and only the parliamentarian side are singled out for ridicule. It is also used as a vehicle for parodying some of the dreadful poetry of the time. The work is clearly influenced by Cervantes’ Don Quixote, but whereas Cervantes’ noble knight, although being mocked, is supposed to draw readers’ sympathies, Butler’s Sir Hudibras is offered nothng but derision. Hudibras has been reprinted many times in the centuries following Butler’s death but most of his other writings never saw print until they were collected posthumously by the writer and literary editor Robert Thyer in 1759.