The satirical poem is made up of seven different stanzas of different length. The first stanza is clearly the dominant one. The narrator of the story starts out by describing the medal in question in less than flattering terms. He mentions the idiots that come to see it, who never had the chance to see anything like it before. The focus on detail blends the natural with the artistic. Just like the man depicted is golden without and base and shallow within. The front and back are described, the inscription is described as the Polish term for rejoice. Dryden compares the length it took to mint the coin with the creation of man, where God only needed a day for mankind, the coin took five. This time comparison is finished with a sly reference to the creation of Lucifer in heaven.
The next section of the first stanza is concerned with the man the medal is honoring. The narrator is concerned that the shifting personality would have been too hard to depict, which is why the engraving artist chose to stick to the regal depiction. This is followed by an artful and scolding list of these personalities. The character is described as a war hero, unwilling to stay loyal, a powerless chief, a disgusting vermin working with the enemy. This all is hidden behind the golden saint depicted. However, truth cannot be hidden, according to the narrator. The depicted character was traitorous and through subterfuge and lying managed to escape the just punishment. The jury is full of corrupt individuals, allowing the clever lies to cloud their judgement.
The narrator shifts his attention towards the un-described audience and pleads them eloquently to use their power to create justice. This account is supported by colorful links to Greek mythology. He explains that the wisdom of the crowd is boundless, but can shift either way, that religion is in the sway of this powerful motions started by crowds throughout history. This leads to the conclusion that prudent men allow a succession of kings to lead them, as this creates peace and property. The final part of the first stanza returns to the man in question and warns the populace of his intent, his aim for power and anarchy that has the potential to destroy England.
The second stanza describes the rotten justice system, where law is not used but misused. Where witnesses do not speak truth but speak what gives themselves the greatest benefits, like leeches on the festering wound of justice. The third stanza likens the river Nile to the city of London. Both give live and create prosperity, but also both breed monsters in their slimy depths. Here the narrator openly speaks against the treasonous act of sedition. The use of similes continue when London is compared to a person with a healthy head, meaning the rich and noble and some rotten hands, meaning the inconvenient and loud opposition. The latter is compared to a sect, where doing evil like stealing has become so much part of their nature that they are willing to go as far as follow their leader into the depths of high treason against the rightful king.
The fourth stanza starts by questioning the reasoning of the traitorous defendants. Their argument becomes invalid, and the narrator compares their crime to the betrayal of Jesus in the vineyard (probably the garden Gethsemane), where the betrayer gets rich from the fall of his king. The narrator goes on in describing that their pretend loyalty will end in them limiting the power of the king to become a simple pawn to dispose of. The stanza is finished with the security that Britain cannot live without its just ruler, as democracy is not meant for the isle.
The fifth stanza is directly targeted at the leader depicted on the medal, the Earl of Shaftesbury, and warns him that his poisonous ways will only lead to him suffering in the end. He is described as the leader of a sect that has infiltrated already way too many minds. It is that his godless ways will lead, even in his success, to his friends becoming his foes. The stanza ends with a grim description of how dull heaven would become, should his vision of religion be the real one.
The sixth stanza can be seen as a logical conclusion to the poem. The narrator explains that the only way Britain can prevail and not sink into madness and chaos is through the rightful ruler at the top. The republican wishes of the traitors will only lead to utter destruction of all they hold dear. People will cry out for help to God, the traitor’s generals will defy him and all followers will cast him from their lands. The final five line stanza is a final description of the loyalty of the narrator towards the king, who helped the nation out of squalor into a well-deserved rest.
