Gilbert's biographer Jane Stedman wrote that Pinafore is "satirically far more complex" than The Sorcerer.
She commented that Gilbert uses several ideas and themes from his Bab Ballads, including the idea of gentlemanly behaviour of a captain towards his crew from "Captain Reece" (1868) and the exchange of ranks due to exchange at birth from "General John" (1867).
Dick Deadeye, based on a character in "Woman's Gratitude" (1869), represents another of Gilbert's favorite (and semi-autobiographical) satiric themes: the misshapen misanthrope whose forbidding "face and form" makes him unpopular although he represents the voice of reason and common sense.
Gilbert also borrows from his 1870 opera, The Gentleman in Black which includes the device of baby-switching.

Historian H. M. Walbrook wrote in 1921 that Pinafore "satirizes the type of nautical drama of which Douglas Jerrold's Black-Eyed Susan is a typical instance, and the 'God's Englishman' sort of patriotism which consists in shouting a platitude, striking an attitude, and doing little or nothing to help one's country".
G. K. Chesterton agreed that the satire is pointed at the selfishness of "being proud of yourself for being a citizen" of one's country, which requires no virtuous effort of will to resist the "temptations to belong to other nations" but is merely an excuse for pride.
In 2005, Australian opera director Stuart Maunder noted the juxtaposition of satire and nationalism in the opera, saying, "they all sing 'He is an Englishman', and you know damn well they're sending it up, but the music is so military ... that you can't help but be swept up in that whole jingoism that is the British Empire."
In addition, he argued that the song ties this theme into the main satire of class distinctions in the opera: "H.M.S. Pinafore is basically a satire on ... the British love of the class system.
 ... [O]f course [Ralph] can marry [the Captain's] daughter, because he's British, and therefore he's great'".
Jacobs notes that Gilbert is lampooning the tradition of nautical melodrama in which the sailor's "patriotism guarantees his virtue".

One of Gilbert's favourite comic themes is the elevation of an unqualified person to a position of high responsibility.
In The Happy Land (1873), for example, Gilbert describes a world in which government offices are awarded to the person who has the least qualification to hold each position.
In particular, the one who has never heard of a ship is appointed to the cabinet post of First Lord of the Admiralty.
In Pinafore, Gilbert revisits this theme in the character of Sir Joseph, who rises to the same position by "never go[ing] to sea".
In later Gilbert and Sullivan operas, the characters Major-General Stanley in Pirates, and Ko-Ko in The Mikado, are similarly appointed to high office though lacking the necessary qualifications.
Gilbert also pokes fun at party politics, implying that when Sir Joseph "always voted at [his] party's call", he sacrificed his personal integrity.
The "commercial middle class" (which was Gilbert's main audience) is treated as satirically as are social climbers and the great unwashed.
In addition, the apparent age difference between Ralph and the Captain, even though they were babies nursed together, satirises the variable age of Thaddeus in The Bohemian Girl.
The Times wrote, in reviewing the 1929 production, that Pinafore was quintessentially Gilbertian in that the absurdities of a "paternal" Captain and the "ethics ... of all romanticism" are accepted "unflinchingly" and taken to their logical conclusion: "It is the reference to actuality that is essential; without it, the absurdity will not stand starkly out".

A theme that pervades the opera is the treatment of love across different social ranks.
In the previous Gilbert and Sullivan opera, The Sorcerer, a love potion causes trouble by inducing the villagers and wedding guests to fall in love with people of different social classes.
In Pinafore, the captain's daughter, Josephine, loves and is loved by a common sailor, but she dutifully tells him, "your proffered l
Gilbert's biographer Jane Stedman wrote that Pinafore is "satirically far more complex" than The Sorcerer. She commented that Gilbert uses several ideas and themes from his Bab Ballads, including the idea of gentlemanly behaviour of a captain towards his crew from "Captain Reece" (1868) and the exchange of ranks due to exchange at birth from "General John" (1867). Dick Deadeye, based on a character in "Woman's Gratitude" (1869), represents another of Gilbert's favorite (and semi-autobiographical) satiric themes: the misshapen misanthrope whose forbidding "face and form" makes him unpopular although he represents the voice of reason and common sense. Gilbert also borrows from his 1870 opera, The Gentleman in Black which includes the device of baby-switching.
Historian H. M. Walbrook wrote in 1921 that Pinafore "satirizes the type of nautical drama of which Douglas Jerrold's Black-Eyed Susan is a typical instance, and the 'God's Englishman' sort of patriotism which consists in shouting a platitude, striking an attitude, and doing little or nothing to help one's country". G. K. Chesterton agreed that the satire is pointed at the selfishness of "being proud of yourself for being a citizen" of one's country, which requires no virtuous effort of will to resist the "temptations to belong to other nations" but is merely an excuse for pride. In 2005, Australian opera director Stuart Maunder noted the juxtaposition of satire and nationalism in the opera, saying, "they all sing 'He is an Englishman', and you know damn well they're sending it up, but the music is so military ... that you can't help but be swept up in that whole jingoism that is the British Empire." In addition, he argued that the song ties this theme into the main satire of class distinctions in the opera: "H.M.S. Pinafore is basically a satire on ... the British love of the class system. ... [O]f course [Ralph] can marry [the Captain's] daughter, because he's British, and therefore he's great'". Jacobs notes that Gilbert is lampooning the tradition of nautical melodrama in which the sailor's "patriotism guarantees his virtue".
One of Gilbert's favourite comic themes is the elevation of an unqualified person to a position of high responsibility. In The Happy Land (1873), for example, Gilbert describes a world in which government offices are awarded to the person who has the least qualification to hold each position. In particular, the one who has never heard of a ship is appointed to the cabinet post of First Lord of the Admiralty. In Pinafore, Gilbert revisits this theme in the character of Sir Joseph, who rises to the same position by "never go[ing] to sea". In later Gilbert and Sullivan operas, the characters Major-General Stanley in Pirates, and Ko-Ko in The Mikado, are similarly appointed to high office though lacking the necessary qualifications. Gilbert also pokes fun at party politics, implying that when Sir Joseph "always voted at [his] party's call", he sacrificed his personal integrity. The "commercial middle class" (which was Gilbert's main audience) is treated as satirically as are social climbers and the great unwashed. In addition, the apparent age difference between Ralph and the Captain, even though they were babies nursed together, satirises the variable age of Thaddeus in The Bohemian Girl. The Times wrote, in reviewing the 1929 production, that Pinafore was quintessentially Gilbertian in that the absurdities of a "paternal" Captain and the "ethics ... of all romanticism" are accepted "unflinchingly" and taken to their logical conclusion: "It is the reference to actuality that is essential; without it, the absurdity will not stand starkly out".
A theme that pervades the opera is the treatment of love across different social ranks. In the previous Gilbert and Sullivan opera, The Sorcerer, a love potion causes trouble by inducing the villagers and wedding guests to fall in love with people of different social classes. In Pinafore, the captain's daughter, Josephine, loves and is loved by a common sailor, but she dutifully tells him, "your proffered l
H.M.S. Pinafore