The Hypnotist by Andrew Barton Paterson

Name: The Hypnotist
Author: Andrew Barton Paterson

A man reads about the new craze of "hypnotism" — the idea that waving one's hands over a subject induces a trance in which the entranced person can only speak the truth. Skeptical but intrigued, he resolves to test the technique himself, grabs his hat, and sets out into the street to try it on the first people he encounters. He "hypnotises" half a dozen passers-by in turn, and each one, under the spell, blurts out a confession of the hypocrisy underlying his respectable profession. A London doctor admits to concealing his own fatal blunders rather than owning up to them. A barrister confesses that he drops the cases of poorer clients the moment a wealthier one offers a bigger fee. A banker reveals the dubious, self-serving methods behind his supposedly sound accounting. A newspaper editor discloses that he slants and suppresses coverage to suit his own interests and connections. A preacher, who publicly extols poverty and simple living, admits to quietly investing his money at high interest rates for personal gain. Each vignette is delivered as a wry, first-person "confession" wrung from the entranced subject, exposing the gap between his public reputation and his private conduct — the doctor's incompetence, the lawyer's venality, the banker's sharp practice, the editor's corruption, and the preacher's greed — all professions ordinarily assumed to be trustworthy or high-minded. Having collected this string of unflattering truths, the amateur hypnotist, satisfied with his successful if exhausting experiment, gives "the magic art a rest" and heads for home. The poem closes on a comic, faintly risqué note, with the narrator musing that had he tried the same trick on women instead, who knows what further truths might have come to light — a final wink that leaves the joke pointed at both male hypocrisy and, more mildly, at the opposite sex's own secrets. Paterson's piece is a light satirical verse in the vein of his humorous bush and city ballads, using the gimmick of hypnotism as a device to strip away professional pretence. Rather than a narrative with developing characters or plot complications, it is structured as a comic list of "types" — doctor, lawyer, banker, editor, clergyman — each a stock figure of Victorian-era respectability whose private truth undercuts his public role. The humour relies on the reader recognising familiar social hypocrisies exaggerated for effect, and the poem's brisk, jingling rhythm and rhyme keep the tone playful rather than bitter, in keeping with Paterson's broader body of comic verse.

By Andrew Barton Paterson · First published 1940 · Genre: Satire, Poetry, Social Commentary · 1,179 words

First lines

A man once read with a mind surprised / Of the way that people were "hypnotised"; / By waving of hands you produced, forsooth, / A kind of trance where men told the truth! / His mind was filled with wond'ring doubt; / He grabbed his hat and he started out, / He walked the street and he made a "set" / At the first half-dozen folk he met. / He "tranced" them all, and without a joke / 'Twas much as follows the subjects spoke: First Man

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The Hypnotist is listed on Textopian as a poem by Andrew Barton Paterson, dated 1940 CE.

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Work type: Poem
Author: Andrew Barton Paterson
Date: 1940 CE
Language: English
Genres: Satire, Poetry, Social Commentary, Narrative Poetry, Humorous Verse
Length: 1,179 words
Structure: 1 section, 12 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

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Genres

Satire — The poem's core structure uses hypnotism as a framing device to expose and mock systemic corruption and hypocrisy within multiple professions, making satirical critique the primary literary mode.
Poetry — Written entirely in rhyming verse with consistent meter and formal poetic structure, employing traditional verse conventions including rhyme scheme and rhythmic patterns throughout.
Social Commentary — Provides sharp, targeted critique of institutional corruption and professional misconduct spanning medicine, law, banking, journalism, and clergy within Victorian society.
Narrative Poetry — Employs a frame narrative structure with the hypnotist's journey as introduction and sequential character revelations creating story progression through verse form.