Satire in the Eighteenth Century Essay -- Literature Essays Literary C

Satire in the Eighteenth Century New ideas, original thoughts, and fresh interpretations characterized the spirit of the eighteenth century. Science was flourishing, and therefore it brought new discoveries that challenged the traditional tyrannical force of religion. Influential figures of the suppurate, such as Voltaire, Jonathan Swift, and William Hogarth, strove to assure human betterment and advance human thinking through truth and humorous criticism. They employed the recitation of satire in order to accomplish their honey oil goal. According to A Handbook of Literary Terms, satire is defined as a work or manner that blends a censorious attitude with humor or wit for improving human institutions or humanity (Harmon and Holman 461). The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics further asserts that satire is both a elbow room of discourse or vision that asserts polemical or critical outlook, and also a specific literary genre, embodying that mode in either pros e or verse (Preminger and Brogan 1114). In essence, satire emerges as a device to successfully diagnose human faults and offer a cure for society. Satire often includes abuse, sarcasm, irony, mockery, exaggeration, and understatements. Arguably Voltaires most famous work, Candide presents a string of characters laced in exaggeration. For example, the Barons lady was not only a considerable presence, but she weighed a striking three hundred and fifty pounds. Furthermore, the Barons castle was considered a monument of prestige, for his house had a door and several windows and his hall was in truth draped in tapestry (Voltaire 19). It is apparent that the use of the hyperbole, among other elements, played a crucial role in the potency of satir... ...rs and improves judgment he that rectifies the semipublic taste is a public benefactor (Preminger and Brogan 1115). The eighteenth century was a time of transformation, in which society was in constant evolution. The progress of the ag e was delivered to the common persons doorstep through literature and art and reached the common persons understanding through satire. Hence, satire was both a furious weapon and a common medium that was utilized by the thinkers of the eighteenth century to promote the Enlightenment. Works Cited Art of William Hogarth. 7 July 2000. Harmon, William and C. Hugh Holman. A Handbook of Literary Terms. New Jersey apprentice Hall, 1992. Preminger, Alex and T.V.F. Brogan, ed. The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. New Jersey Princeton University Press, 1993. Swift Biography. 8 July 2000.