A guinea for a guinea pig: a manuscript satire on England’s first animal–human blood transfusion

Abstract

AbstractThis article examines a manuscript satire of a famous case of seventeenth‐century blood transfusion in England between a man and a sheep. The poem, transcribed at the end of the article, tells the story of Arthur Coga, a clergyman and alcoholic who was offered money in 1667 to take part in a dangerous experiment by Royal Society physicians. The verses tackle crucial ethical points of medical experimentation in the period and mock the novel scientific procedures of the newly established Royal Society. The problems of scientific exploitation, complicity, and informed consent are dealt with in a poetic fashion, through the use of realised metaphors, local legends, and classical mythology. The article argues that the poem acts as a site of transformations, both rhetorical and literal. The practice of transfusion transforms poetry itself, and influences the choice of poetic devices. At the same time, the poem's humour serves as a powerful weapon in the incrimination of the new experimental procedure.