Meditation Upon a Broomstick A Meditation Upon a Broomstick is a satire and parody written by Jonathan Swift some time around 1703 . Edmund Curll , in an attempt to antagonize and siphon off money from Swift , published it in 1710 from a manuscript stolen from Swift ( which forced Swift to publish a corrected and authorized version that he also had to write from memory ) , but the satire 's origins lie in Swift 's time at Moor Park , Surrey , when he acted as Secretary to William Temple . While in the household , Swift would read passages from Robert Boyle 's Occasional Reflections upon Several Subjects ( 1665 ) for the young Esther Johnson ( `` Stella '' to Swift ) . Boyle 's Reflections took the form of meditations on everyday subjects , where they were likened to religious themes . Boyle would consider a fire , or house cleaning , and see in it a reflection of God 's relationship to man , or man to his soul . These reflections were very popular in the Temple household . One day , Swift , being bored with the predictability of Boyle 's points , wrote his own Meditation and put it into the book . When the time came to read for the day , he read , instead of Boyle , his own Meditation Upon a Broomstick . The ladies of the house did not catch on until near the end of the meditation that it was absurd . Swift later wrote up the Meditation in a more formal manner and published it to counteract Curll 's piracy . To get a flavor for the Meditation , consider the last paragraph : `` But a Broom-stick , perhaps you 'll say , is an Emblem of a Tree standing on its Head ; and pray what is Man , but a Topsy-turvy Creature , his Animal Faculties perpetually mounted on his Rational ; His Head where his Heels should be ; groveling on the Earth , and yet with all his Faults , he sets up to be an universal Reformer and Corrector of Abuses , a Remover of Grievances , rakes into every Slut 's Corner of Nature , bringing hidden Corruptions to the Light , and raises a mighty Dust where there was none before , sharing deeply all the while , in the very samme Pollutions he pretends to sweep away : His last Days are spent in Slavery to Women , and generally the least deserving ; 'till worn to the Stumps , like his Brother Bezom , he 's either kict out of Doors , or made use of to kindle Flames , for others to warm Themselves by . `` The Meditation begins with a rational moral comparison and proceeds to a frenzy of increasingly unlikely comparisons . While the satire begins with a pitch-perfect imitation of the kindly Boyle 's tone , it ends in a frantic , misanthropistic and misognynistic note of despair and nihilism . Also , while it begins with a hopeful call to self-examination , it moves eventually into a condemnation of all efforts at improvement . Categories : Satire | 18th century | 1700s In other languages : Français 