Musical Notation Page

This page of musical notation appears in J. Ashton's 1883 anthology Humour, Wit, & Satire of the Seventeenth Century, suggesting the score itself carried satirical or comic intent for contemporary audiences. The placement within a humor collection indicates that seventeenth-century composers sometimes embedded ridicule or parody into musical form—whether through text underlay, structural absurdity, or reference to familiar melodies repurposed for mockery. Musical satire, like its visual counterparts in prints and broadsides, served as a vehicle for social commentary and entertainment among literate audiences. This example demonstrates how satire operated across multiple media during the early modern period, preceding the visual caricature traditions of Hogarth and Gillray that would later influence modern comic art.