 Other, less obvious, elements of the painting reveal more about the poet's personality and ideas.The poem he is attempting to write is entitled "Upon Riches", which suggests that the poet lives in a fantasy world, while his wife and child go hungry.Ned Ward's first published poem in 1691 was "The Poet's Ramble After Riches", which satirised his own struggles as an impoverished aspiring poet, and Hogarth may have had this in mind when he produced the picture.