Satire

1. Satire A way for writers to criticize their society.

2. Since ancient times, writers have used satire to: • attack injustice • highlight the absurd • show the brutal truth about one topic while seeming to write about another

3. Turn to page 608 in your Literature book. Look at the painting. In what ways do you think it is satirical?

4. What it is • A literary technique in which behaviors or institutions are ridiculed for the purpose of improving society. • What sets it apart from other social and political protests? HUMOR

5. When did it begin? • With the ancient Greeks, but came into its own in ancient Rome!

6. Fathers of Satire • Horace (1st century BC) • Juvenal (2nd century AD) • They were inspired by the decadence (luxurious self indulgence) of the Roman Empire to write scathing critiques of their society.

7. Next flourishing happened • 2nd half of the 17th century in Europe • Continued through the 18th century • Known as the Golden Age of Satire

8. In England… • This “Golden Age” of satire encompassed the talents of the Restoration dramatists as well as: • John Dryden • Alexander Pope • Jonathan Swift • Samuel Johnson

9. 18th century… • Dominated by satiric poetry, prose, and drama. • Satirists, as guardians of the culture, sought to protect their highly developed civilization from corruption by attacking hypocrisy, arrogance, greed, vanity, and stupidity. “The satirist is to be regarded as our physician, not our enemy.” – H. Fielding

10. 19th century • Pretty much faded away… Few notable exceptions: • Lord Byron • William Makepeace Thackeray • Samuel Butler • Mark Twain

11. Characteristics of Satire • ATTEMPTS:to bring about change by exposing an oddity or a problem in an imaginative, often humorous, way. • TARGET: is often a social or political one. • USES: irony and exaggeration to poke fun at human faults and foolishness in order to correct human behavior.

12. Who is the target? • Most often a social or political one.

13. 2 Basic Types of Satire • Horatian satire (Horace) – is playfully amusing and urbane. Seeks to correct vice or foolishness with gentle laughter and understanding. (example: “Rape of the Lock” – satirizes the trivial pursuits of the idle wealthy, echoes openings of ancient epics in its famous first lines.)

14. 2nd type • Juvenalian satire (Juvenal) – provokes a darker kind of laughter. It is often bitter, or even angry, and criticizes corruption or incompetence with scorn and outrage. • (example: “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift – shocked and appalled readers. Some passages have biting verbal irony.)

15. Strategies for reading SATIRE • Determine the object of satire. The custom or character that provokes laughter is probably the undesirable part of society the writer is criticizing.

16. 2. Note what is criticized in order to infer what the satirist believes is right and proper

17. 3. Watch for irony, which often points directly to the object of satire.

18. 4. Pay attention to anything that is exaggerated.

19. 5. Evaluate whether the satire is Horation (playful and sympathetic) or Juvenalian (bitter and critical).

20. Works Cited • Holt McDougal Literature – British Literature textbook