The Beastly Imagery and Language of D. H. Lawrence
"Doesn't he look the fresh clean Englishman, outside?" (Lawrence, line 6)

Description: 

Introduction:

D. H. Lawrence's "How Beastly the Bourgeois Is" is a poem that starts with calling the bourgeois beastly, "especially the male of the species" (Lawrence, line 2). He gets straight to the point that he is trying to unpack. Lawrence then proceeds to explain their outer appearance: "Presentable, eminently presentable--" (line 3), "Isn't he handsome?  Isn't he healthy?  Isn't he a fine specimen?" (line 5), and even "God's own image?" (line 7). This sarcasm is provided to the reader's expectation higher towards the bourgeois. Lawrence then uses the sarcasm to pivot into his social commentary. He dives deep into the bourgeois's actions and inner character.  Lawrence goes on to explain that whenever they are faced with any difficulty, they show the ugly and cruel side that dominates them. Descriptions like "soggy" (Lawrence, line 16), "mess" (Lawrence, line 17), "mushroom" (Lawrence, line 23), and "wormy" (Lawrence, line 30). Though it all comes back to "How beastly the bourgeois is especially the male of the species--" (Lawrence, lines 1-2).

D. H. Lawrence's piece critique's the working class of the time directly. Being published in the modernist era, you can see many elements of that used throughout, especially in its' individualistic approach. The symbolism, absurdity, and larger issue it tries to tackle are all evidence of this modernist approach as well. Lawrence uses modernism and begins the piece with a satirical sense and then moves into the analysis of their character. He does this with the basic explanation that they are beastly. This imagery dominates the piece and uses it in a way that paints a picture contrary to what many people would like to see at the time it was published. Within this, Lawrence is critiquing the society around him, especially that of the bourgeois men in power. He pushes back against the idea of the superior bourgeois and uses this beastly imagery to exploit and critique them. This analysis and caricature is the whole driving force of the poem and this gallery exposes this language and message. 

Looking further into this, there are many political cartoons and other illustrations that depict different scenes in this way. With that being said, the goal of this gallery is to expose the imagery used to describe the bourgeois in very visual pictures found that support the text well. This gallery uses four different images, each showing the critique of the bourgeois in a way that uses imagery that shows the "beastly" and deceptive nature of the time. 

Works Cited

Lawrence, D. H.,  "How Beastly the Bourgeois Is." COVE Studio, 1917, https://studio.covecollective.org/anthologies/sp22-eng-l302-anthology/do...


Moretti, Franco. The Bourgeois: Between History and Literature. Brooklyn, NY: Verso, 2013. Print.

Associated Place(s)