Life — December 13, 1923 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of "A Canticle of Christmas, 1923" This satirical poem by Ruth Lambert Jones mocks 1920s moral panic and restrictive social movements. The cartoon shows a tailor fitting a woman while a man observes—illustrating the poem's critique of various prohibition-era concerns. The satire targets: - **Temperance/Prohibition advocates** ("Wassail! Wassail! Drink nothing but water") - **Censorship movements** ("Health Leagues will snipe it," "Vice Leagues might dislike it") - **Moral policing** of everyday activities—reading, smoking, clothing choices The "Polite Costumer" caption suggests ironic commentary on how fashion itself faced moral scrutiny. The poem's final lines about "freedom intact" and "Christmas taxes" suggest frustration with government overreach and moral busybodies restricting innocent pleasures during the post-WWI era.