The True-Born Englishman
by Daniel Defoe
First published 1701 · English · 38 pages
- Poetry
- History and politics
The True-Born Englishman is a satirical poem in rhyming couplets, written in defence of King William III, who faced attacks for being a foreigner. Defoe answers by mocking the idea of pure English blood, tracing the nation's mixed ancestry from Romans, Saxons, Danes, Normans and others. The poem is witty, blunt and political, and it was hugely popular on publication. It remains a famous argument against national pride built on false ideas of origin.
Quotes
Wherever God erects a house of prayer, The Devil always builds a chapel there.
Thus from a mixture of all kinds began, That heterogeneous thing, an Englishman.
The grand contention's plainly to be seen,To get some men put out, and some put in.
The royal refugee our breed restoresWith foreign courtiers and with foreign whores,And carefully repeopled us again,Throughout his lazy, long, lascivious reign.