Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) once called his countrywoman and friend Mary Barber (1685–1755) “the best Poetess of both kingdoms,” Ireland and England. This was a judgment not universally acknowledged, particularly among her fellow poetesses. Still, Swift’s patronage ensured the success of Barber’s 1734 “Poems on several occasions,” which is why we have come to hear of her at all. Her body of work consists largely of poems about, and meant for the edification of, her numerous children.

Today’s Poem of the Day, in tetrameter couplets, exemplifies Barber’s bent for gently satirical instruction. Her marital advice is largely unimpeachable, including the admonition to bother with personal hygiene, even when no one but your wife is there to smell you. The poem ends, however, with a pinch of larger social commentary. A husband, Barber says, should aid his wife in improving her mind by giving her women authors to read, as models for her own aspiration. Presumably one day she too will need to advise her son in his own marital adventures, and for this and other eventualities it is good to prepare the intellect.