“An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog” begins with the speaker’s salutation to the audience, described as “good people all, of every sort” (Line 1), and the speaker’s request that the audience “give ear unto my song” (Line 2). The speaker believes their “song” or poem is fitting and enjoyable for all sorts of people of different stations and classes. This address to the audience is immediately followed by a disclaimer; regarding the poem, the speaker states, “And if you find it wondrous short, / It cannot hold you long” (Lines 3-4). Acknowledging the poem’s relatively short length and anticipating various criticisms, the speaker quickly characterizes the poem as little more than a fun and trivial “song” that will entertain in the moment but will not “hold you long” (Line 4) or demand too much attention.

Goldsmith provides the poem’s setting of Islington, where Goldsmith himself lived for some time, and presents its principal character in the second stanza. The speaker introduces the man, who possesses the good opinion of “the world” (Line 6) or at the very least his neighbors, who notice “his godly race” (Line 7) when he goes to pray.