Judge — March 10, 1917 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a poem illustrated with a dramatic black-and-white drawing, not a political cartoon. The piece is romantic orientalism—a popular late 19th/early 20th-century literary genre. The poem depicts a Moorish dance performance watched by an audience of working-class people ("squalor fades"). The text references the Alhambra palace and characters "Abu" and "Zuleika," invoking exoticized Islamic Spain and the Arabian Nights tradition. The satire appears gentle: the poem suggests that momentarily, through art and imagination, poor spectators can escape their dreary lives and envision themselves in fantastical palaces. It's sentimental rather than sharp-edged critique—typical of Judge's lighter content. The illustration shows the dancer elevated on a platform while seated figures around her are entranced, visualizing the "jewelled hall" of their dreams. The author credits F. Gregory Hartswick.