Beckford's "Elegiac Sonnet to a Mopstick"

William Beckford’s “Elegiac Sonnet to a Mopstick” is a humorous parody of a mournful type of poem. He uses an English style sonnet to wittingly express his sorrow for the mopstick. He reminisces about where the mopstick had come from, using an enjambed form. The second stanza starts with the volta and switches to an end-stopped form to emphasize this change; it tells of the current dreadful state the mopstick is in.
The first quatrain starts off with a gentle tone as he recalls the wood before it was turned into a mopstick. The tone is significant because it is showing a more pleasant time, when it was attached to the tree and living rather than dead and detached and basically put to work. He brings about a type of blazon to this poem by naming different parts of the stick such as the leaves and the bark. The second quatrain more so brings about an enjambed form to this stanza emphasizing the chaotic nature of this section. It is chaotic because the stick has become the mop and Beckford’s heart is skipping at the thought of it.
The second stanza begins with both the third quatrain and the volta. As we have learned a volta is a turning point in a sonnet, and in this poem it is done through a change in time. At this point in the poem he realizes that he has to come to terms with the fate of the stick. He reminisces one last time of the “glory days” of the stick, and sheds a tear for the life it has now. This thought trickles down into the couplet as he compares the troubles of the mopstick to the troubles of the world.
I found this poem’s use of the English form to intriguing for it separates the third quatrain from the other two while connecting it with the couplet. It still is able to stays true to many sonnets as it maintains the common use of having the volta in the ninth line. I also enjoyed the humorous nature of this poem as it pokes fun of depressing sonnets of the time and gives a more satirical and enjoyable outlook.