TheRolliad, in fullCriticisms on the Rolliad, is a work ofBritish satire directed principally at the administration ofWilliam Pitt the Younger. It was written and originally published in serial form in theMorning Herald in 1784–85, and its authors also contributed ancillarysatires which were published together with it.

The satire takes the form of a piece ofliterary criticism of anepic poem calledThe Rolliad which is extensively quoted. The subject of the poem isJohn Rolle, MP forDevon, who is being guided around Parliament byMerlin who introduces the leading personalities to him. Rolle, despite the fact that he was not a constant supporter of Pitt, was picked out for ridicule by the authors after he shouted downEdmund Burke in the House of Commons. The authors claimed his descent from theNormanRollo of Normandy.

TheRolliad was a collaborative work and the authors remained anonymous. Joseph Richardson, a journalist, was the principal writer;George Ellis (an antiquary), Richard Tickell (a librettist) andFrench Laurence (Regius Professor of Civil Law at Oxford) also contributed. There were contributors from the field of politics includingRichard FitzPatrick who was very close toCharles James Fox andLord John Townshend, a former Minister.

In addition to the eponymous Rolle, theRolliad attacked Pitt for his consumption of port and for having no relationships with women:

'Tis true, indeed, we oft abuse him,

Because he bends to no man;

But Slander's self dares not accuse him

Of stiffness to a woman.

Pitt was also ridiculed for his youth:^[1]

Above the rest, majestically great,

Behold the infant Atlas of the state,

The matchless miracle of modern days,

In whom Britannia to the world displays

A sight to make surrounding nations stare;

A kingdom trusted to a school-boy's care.

Pitt's allyHenry Dundas was attacked for his dissoluteness.Charles Jenkinson also had perhaps more than his fair share of criticism.

• etext of the Rolliad atProject Gutenberg
• etext of the Rolliad at theInternet Archive
• Project Gutenberg etext ofNotes and Queries of July 20, 1850 containing a note on the authors of theRolliad.
• The Rolliad A chapter discussing this work, fromThe Cambridge History of English and American Literature.

• 1784 poems
• English poems
• British political satire
• Cultural depictions of William Pitt the Younger

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2022