Life — November 6, 1919 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Page 782: Life Magazine Satire Analysis This page contains three distinct satirical pieces: **"Do's for Poets"** (by Clement Wood): Mock advice for aspiring poets, mocking pretentious literary styles—urging clichéd "passion," affected language, and deliberate obscurity to appeal to "modern mood." **"Doubly Difficult"**: A joke contrasting stage detectives (who must disguise their intelligence) with real-life detectives (who needn't hide their competence). **"The Last Phase"**: Satirizes 1920s American social decay—chewing gum lotteries draining poor people's savings, children in croquet pools, hospitals filled with cough-drop addicts, and marriage reduced to commercialism. The punchline: a referendum made wine and beer 10-to-1 favorites, suggesting Prohibition's failure and public desire for repeal. **"The Trap"** and **"The First Balky Steed"** appear to be humorous illustrations accompanying these pieces.