Both Edgar Allan Poe and H. L. Mencken can write reviews bursting at the seams with sarcasm and humor. These pieces of criticism speak novels about their judgment of these works that don’t “make the cut” of perceived greatness, and of the types of people who would indulge themselves with them. However, Noël Carrol does not speak about the use of humor in arts criticism, for good or for bad. If we are to use Carrol’s definition of arts criticism, then we can’t judge the effectiveness of Poe and Mencken’s use of humor in criticism, or whether it belongs at all. The question, then, is if humor has a place in the world of arts criticism, and how effective it is at conveying the critic’s judgment and evaluation of the work. As Poe and Mencken demonstrate in negative reviews, but less so in their positive reviews, the use of comedy can strengthen their evaluation and analysis of a work of art by allowing the audience to laugh at aspects of the work (and the environment the work is in) that detract from their evaluation, drawing their attention to particularly weak moments. This use merits comedy a place in arts criticism, even if Carrol has left it out of his definition.
Carrol’s definition of arts criticism boils down to a few concepts: evaluation and judgment, the six utilities of criticism (contextualization, elucidation, etc.), and respect of the artist’s intent. On the surface, comedy for sarcastic or satiric use does not seem to have a place in any of Carrol’s concepts regarding criticism. But, both Mencken and Poe frequently use comedy successfully in their essays. In Mencken’s essay titled “Private Reflections,” he flatly states the rationale behind much of his criticism. The main purpose of his criticism is to “break down the ...
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...rts of their arguments for why a work failed to “make the cut.” While it isn’t called out by name in Carrol’s definition of arts criticism, they would demonstrate that it belongs as an important part of the evaluation component of negative criticism.
Works Cited
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Mencken, H. L. "Private Reflections." Smart Set Criticism. Washington: Regnery, 1987. 23-26. Print.
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“Nathaniel Hawthorne.” The Norton Anthology: American Literature, edited by Baym et al. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1995.
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It is interesting to see how the different Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism are altered by the text they are describing. For example, I have one volume on Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, and another for Great Expectations, both of which demonstrate the extent to which the object of critique affects the critique itself, such that “deconstruction criticism” in an intellectual vacuum is something different than when a scholar tries to apply it to a particular text, altering both the text as well as the principles of deconstruction. The Awakening gender criticism takes on a different feel from Great Expectation gender criticism even though they are informed by the same principles, because gender in the early Victorian Dickens is different than in the turn of the century American Chopin. In this way the criticism co-constructs with the primary document something different than both the criticism and the original text. Such a syntheses have produced exciting and innovative ideas, refreshing and reviving works from the tombs of academia. Unfor...
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The reading “On Laughter” really opened my eyes to a more deeper understanding of how humor can make an impact on a piece of writing. Humor isn’t found on the surface of a writing but instead deeper in the context that makes it out of the ordinary. In “The Perimeter of Ignorance” the comedian exemplifies his essay with drops of humor. Some of the humor he displays is misleading. For example, “Cancers take over your body, congenital diseases force an early death”. This is an appalling statement but sometimes can bring out laughter to an audience when their feeling an extreme emotion. He continues by saying “So the universe wants to kill us all. But lets ignore that complication for the moment”. This statement might be a little over exaggerating
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John Marwood Cleese, an English actor, comedian, writer and film producer said, “If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas. And if I can persuade you to laugh at the particular point I make, by laughing at it you acknowledge its truth”. The point he brings up is the ideology of satire. Satire, by definition, is a technique utilized by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society. This can be done by using humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule ("Satire - Definition and Examples", para.1). Often times, the humor used opens the audiences’ minds to the underlying problem that the writer is trying to reveal. By examining the purpose and methods of satire, dissecting literary works, and displaying examples in the media, satire is shown to be a valuable tool.
In Alain de Botton’s book, Status Anxiety, he argues that the aim of humorists is not solely entertainment, but also to convey a message that isn’t always okay to state directly. There are many places where his argument can apply. Even with humor, some topics are still too controversial to joke about; However, in most cases, humor can lighten things up and make it easier to discuss topics that otherwise would not be as easy to talk about without heavy arguments. There are many cases that would make his argument true. There are many examples that support his argument, and that help to show the importance of humor in arguing, including cartoons, comics, works of literature, and also when thinking of hosts of television programs.
Satire is a broad genre that many writers, particularly those writing in or about the Victorian time period, like to use in their works. Satire is often used to criticize society, and attempt to bring attention to the social or political issues the writer sees. One Victorian-era writer who uses satire a lot in his works is Oscar Wilde. Wilde used satire to get across his distain for traditional gender and marriage roles, and utilizes this in his play The Importance of Being Earnest. Meanwhile, another author who does the same is that of Virginia Woolf, who’s last novel, Between the Acts, uses satire through the techniques of parody and irony to get across her criticism on gender roles. Overall, both writers use satire in a unique and relevant way to get across their distain for gender roles in a Victorian society.
Bressler, Charles E. Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice, 2003.
Arnold, Matthew. "The Function of Criticism at the Present Time." The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Ed. Vincent B. Leitch. 2nd. ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2001. 695-714. Print.