Reflection On The Road To Satire

Final Reflection Paper When I just got the letter in the mail saying I have been assigned to the class “The Road to Satire” I was very skeptical because I was unsure of what satire really was and what this class would hold. We only briefly discussed it in my AP Language Class, and what we did discuss I had no idea what is was about. All I really knew about satire is that authors use satire to discuss real world problems in a ironic, exaggerated, or funny way. However, after just sitting through one class on the second day of this program, I quickly realized that this class would very educational to me. I knew I would have to quickly get used to a lot of reading every night and having to write papers in one night. But even so, I still knew …show more content…
This poem is mocking society in its failure to rise to epic standards. This poem underscores the ridiculousness of a society in which everyone has lost all sanity to very minor incidents in society. When the girl gets her hair cut off in the poem, her and her family go crazy and demand that the guy who cut the hair to put it back. This is an example of hyperbole, which are exaggerate statement or claims not meant to be taken literally. But they are important to the understanding of the poem. Getting your hair cut off is not that big of a deal, but it is satirizing how society blows things out of proportion. The Rape of the Lock is an example of Juvenalian satire since it is specifically calling out the government and how it deals with society. Another piece we read in class is The Importance of being Earnest. In this play, Oscar Wilde treats the topic of marriage and romance with plenty of comedy, especially among the male characters. Algernon’s butler admits that his marriage was a result of a “misunderstanding”, Algernon feels that marriage is “demoralizing”. and Gwendolen and Cecily see marriage as a fantasy led by the trivial matter of a first name. Another aspect of society that is being satirized is the secret reality of how the upper class actually enjoy living about their means, which means they like to spend more than they have. We know this because Algernon and Jack have a hard time paying creditors back. This is due to their other persona’s who enjoy eating in expensive restaurants and buying expensive clothes. This is ironic, because if you’re rich, you should be happy and content with your life and should not need to create another persona to live your life through. This shows that Wilde cares very little for the high and mighty days that Victorians like to live and he did this by the use of Horation satire since he is poking fun of the situation and