The Wasp — 1888 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of The Wasp Page 3 This page combines satirical poetry and prose commentary with a large illustration on the right. The main image depicts **"The King of France, with twenty thousand men"**—a caricatured figure in ornate dress, likely referencing the nursery rhyme about the King of France marching up and down a hill, used as political satire. The left column contains multiple short poems satirizing various political positions and figures of the era, including references to Republicans, Democrats, "Knights of Labor," Chinese immigration policy, and prohibition. The text mocks political hypocrisy and inconsistent stances on issues like temperance and labor rights. Without specific date markers visible, the exact political moment remains unclear, but this reflects late 19th-century American political divisions over labor, immigration, and moral reform.