In the mid-nineteenth century, Arthur Hugh Clough wrote a poem entitled "The Last Decalogue" in which he criticizes the Victorians, in particular the contrast between the impression that they gave of themselves and their true morality. He uses form, language and tone in various ways to express this idea of ​​the Victorian period and makes his position on the topic clear. The topic of the poem is hinted at very early on, in title itself. ; "The Last Decalogue" is a very appropriate title for the poem, as it alludes to the fact that the poem is a Victorian version of the Ten Commandments, taking into account the new social ideals. , each followed by a hasty amendment ironically excusing Victorian behavior. However, while this may be their ostensible function, their real function is to expose the Victorians for the hypocrites they are by revealing the discrepancy between their supposed morals (e.g. example "Don't be false." witness;" (l. 17)) and their actions (“let the lie | Have time on their own ali to fly:” (l. 17-18)) which, relative to this morality, could well be described as debauchery. Using the English of the Authorized Version (early modern English) to evoke a modern phenomenon Clough effectively uses ancient language to convey a new message, illustrative of religious hypocrisy, this is representative of the Victorians; they hide their modern selves under a traditional outer shell. We see this throughout the poem, however a clear example is “To church on Sunday to attend | It will serve to keep the world your friend:” (l. 8-9) where the poet uses Early Modern English, an older version of English, to express the idea (albeit satirically) that i Victorians should go to church every.... .. middle of paper ......to convey his ideas about Victorians and their attitude towards religion and money. “The Latest Decalogue” is both a parody of the Ten Commandments and a satire on the Victorian period and its hypocrisy. This poem describes a perversion of Christianity due to the decay of organized faith, being a natural phenomenon in a modern, scientific world; revealing how Christianity plays an increasingly smaller role in everyday life during the Victorian period, as it is gradually replaced by evolution and other scientific ideas, as well as social Darwinism leading Victorians to tend towards the ideal of self- made-man. The idea of ​​the Victorian period that Clough expresses through “The Latest Decalogue” is that money and science have usurped the place of religion in society, while religion is hypocritically maintained to keep up appearances..