Sjömansbiblioteket

‘A bloody nation, barbarous and rude’ is how Daniel Defoe describes England in his hilarious poem ‘The True-Born Englishman’. The poem is a satire about the stupidity of xenophobia. Defoe mocks the idea of a natural Englishman as they are a blend of Saxon, Danish and Roman. The poem ‘lampoons the nation’ and was celebrated at the time for Defoe’s use of wit and irony. This piece remains relevant in today’s highly fractured society and serves as an important and entertaining reminder that kindness is favourable to hate.

Daniel Defoe (1660 – 1731) is one of the most important authors in the English language. Defoe was one of the original English novelists and greatly helped to popularise the form. Defoe was highly prolific and is believed to have written over 300 works ranging from novels to political pamphlets. He was highly celebrated but also controversial as his writings influenced politicians but also led to Defoe being imprisoned. Defoe’s novels have been translated into many languages and are still read across the globe to this day. Some of his most famous books include ‘Moll Flanders’ and ‘Robinson Crusoe’ which was adapted into a movie starring Pierce Brosnan and Damian Lewis in 1997. Defoe’s influence on English novels cannot be understated and his legacy lives on to this day.