The True-Born Englishman - Daniel Defoe

‘A bloody nation, barbarous and rude’ is how Daniel Defoe describes England in his hilarious poem ‘The True-Born Englishman’. The poem is a satire about the stupidity of xenophobia. Defoe mocks the idea of a natural Englishman as they are a blend of Saxon, Danish and Roman. The poem ‘lampoons the nation’ and was celebrated at the time for Defoe’s use of wit and irony. This piece remains relevant in today’s highly fractured society and serves as an important and entertaining reminder that kindness is favourable to hate.