Old is Gold Irish playwright Oscar Wilde sparked uproar during Britain’s Victorian Era with witty literature that cemented his legacy as being one of the greatest playwrights in history. Wilde’s acclaimed ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ showcases the satirical craftsmanship of his epigram. Times have changed since this satirical play was written and with this opens up questions that is it still funny nowadays. The play explores the themes of marriage, death, and the pun on the word earnest by using written devices and satirical techniques on how the word simultaneously correlates to the title and play. Though having been written over a century, Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ preserves its comedic appeal to a contemporary audience.
Voluntarism would be the way to depict Candide since Candide goes with his will to do things. For instance he goes after Cunegonde, who in reality doesn’t have a chance of being with her with the Seven- Years war going on. In addition to Voltaire critics about Dr. Pangloss and Candide beliefs, he also makes fun of the most obvious belief that is occurring. In this case it would have to be imperialism. Voltaire comes up with many obvious critics, through humor, to criticize his society but in the end his overall objective is to use different satirical devices to criticize the imperialistic beliefs, the intellectuals thought process, known as intellectualism, and voluntarism beliefs.
Satire in Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift, in his book, “Gulliver’s Travels” used satire to indirectly make fun of politicians, scientists, philosophers, and human in general, because back in those days these were the people who were mostly in charge of everything. In the introduction of Gulliver’s travels, Robert Demaria Jr, Henry Noble MacCracken Professor of English at Vassar College, states, “Gulliver’s travels treat all the standard topics of classical satire. Like Juvenal’s tenth satire, it makes fun of vanity of the most common of human whishes: money, power, fame, long life, learning (especially without effort), beauty, and so on” (xii). Politicians were trying to have all the power and be the in charge of the whole
Concern with war and the blighting effects of the industrial revolution were displayed in much of his work. One of Blake’s most famous works is The Songs of Innocence and The Songs of Expe... ... middle of paper ... ... transcend the material world and reach what Blake views as the actual world of the spirit. The hidden interpretation within the piece is a telling commentary on Blake’s non-conventional religious awareness. William Blake was a modern thinker with a recalcitrant political spirit. He used poetry and art as sociopolitical weapons, which were raised boldly against the establishment.
Satire is a genre of literature that many authors have written in, particularly when writing in or about the Victorian time period. Authors would write satirical novels with the intent to provide constructive social criticism, to draw attention to issues in their society, and to shame individuals, corporations, governments, and society, in general, into improvement. Two writers who successfully use satire in their works are Oscar Wilde and Virginia Woolf. Both writers satirize gender roles and social status in their respective works of The Importance of Being Earnest and Between the Acts. In his play, Wilde utilizes the techniques of inversion and puns to get his satire across, which work together to form a specific critique of marriage and social status in a Victorian society, and those that enforce these rules.
Parody, an imitation of a specific known person, literary work, movie, or event, is a form of satire strongly displayed in Jonathan Swift’s book, Gulliver’s Travels, and the movie, Airplane, by Jerry Zucker, David Zucker, and Jim Abrahams. These satirical works most commonly targeted subjects from a range of areas such as present day social issues all the way to politics. Starting out, Swift was a man who used satire to convey his contempt for the human race. One of his most famous works conveyed this hatred and anger towards the human race.... ... middle of paper ... ...e form of a parody. Parody is an imitation of a specific known person, literary work, movie, or event; often involves mocking.
Throughout the novel, the use of satire increases the readability of the text, intriguing readers’ thoughts, and, ultimately, emphasizing the adverse social condition; thus making the novel appealing. When Oliver was born, Dickens wrote, “Now, if, during this brief period, Oliver had been surrounded by careful grandmothers, anxious aunts, experienced nurses, and doctors of profound wisdom, he would most inevitably and indubitably have been killed in no time” (Dickens Chapter I). Dickens is connoting the fact that those who are in adversities would fight for living, while those who are not don’t even need to fight, highlighting the social inequality that exists at that time. Other than that, Dickens described that authorities’ reaction to “let the paupers go to sleep” as “a novel illustration of the tender laws of England”, using a sarcastic tone to make the point that paupers were not expected to sleep in that time, underscoring the ruthlessness that those who are in lower class were suffering not only in the novel but also in the corrupted society during Victorian Era (Dickens Chapter II). Dickens successfully illustrated a brutal society that once existed.
Charles Dickens and Lawyers in the Early Nineteenth Century Lawyers. In today's culture, just the word alone is enough to inspire countless jokes and endless sarcastic comments. Far from being the most loved profession, lawyers have attained a very bad image despite the importance of their work and the prestige and wealth that usually accompanies it. Were lawyers seen in this fashion when Charles Dickens was writing his magnificent pieces of literature? The image of lawyers of that time may not seem so different to the people who are about to enter the twenty-first century.
Heller uses different literary, satirical, and absurdist techniques, such as paradoxical statements and irony, to criticize the meaninglessness of war and life and the corrupt nature of the bureaucracy. First of all, Heller’s Catch-22 is a satirical novel, as stated above. While there are many different possible satirical techniques, such as irony and exaggeration, that Heller uses, he focuses mainly on using comedy, particularly dark or black humor, to satirize the bureaucracy, war, and life. As Daniel Green says, “no character, not even the apparent protagonist, escapes the ravages of mockery and ridicule”(Green). Heller uses several main comedic events in the novel to satirize the bureaucracy.
He attacks politics, religion controversy, the scientific community, and human rationality in very unique ways. He steps out of the normal boundaries to allow readers to see the subliminal message that he is sending them, and that is a corrupt society. “Swift’s main purpose in using the satirical element in this book, as well as in most of his other works is to vex the world rather than divert it and thus to appeal to the human’s ability to change situations for the better” (Ernst). He is not only informative, but sometimes hysterical as well. His story-line is like a made up world of what is really happening all around him.