Satire is a literary genre, categorised by the ridiculing of different faucets of society, as well as society as a whole. This ridicule is different to simple mockery, in that the core purpose of satire is to show the shortcomings of the subject through thinly-veiled metaphors and ironic humour.
Satirical writing draws on sarcasm and wit to criticise it's subject in an intelligent and thought-provoking way.
Jonathan Swift, author of 'Gulliver's Travels' is one of the best known and most widely appreciated satirists of the seventeenth to eighteenth century. His writing style holds many similarities with the satirical writing of authors and poets such as Alexander Pope, Robert Harley and Thomas Parnell. The writers, all members of what was known as the 'Scriblerus Club', wrote what is known as 'Juvenal satire'; satirical literature which was far less humorous and much more ironic, sarcastic and focused on politics than its predecessor, 'Horation satire'.
One of Swift's most famous satirical pieces, (other than 'Gulliver's Travels') is an essay entitled 'A Modest …show more content…
He states that 'all of Swift's satire was written in anger, contempt, or disgust, but it was written to promote self-knowledge in the faith that self-knowledge will lead to right action" ('The Pride of Lemuel Gulliver', 1955).
Swift uses satire to ridicule what he sees as humankind's flaws to the point that his readers, as humans, have no choice but the change their outlook and their actions.
From the tiny people of Lilliput, who refuse to admit their shortcomings, to the giants of Brobdingnag, who show how disgusting humanity can appear when observed too closely, to the Yahoos and Houyhnhnm that force readers to disassociate from humankind; Swift finds ways to satirise and ridicule some of the most integral parts of humanity and
Satirical writing draws on sarcasm and wit to criticise it's subject in an intelligent and thought-provoking way.
Jonathan Swift, author of 'Gulliver's Travels' is one of the best known and most widely appreciated satirists of the seventeenth to eighteenth century. His writing style holds many similarities with the satirical writing of authors and poets such as Alexander Pope, Robert Harley and Thomas Parnell. The writers, all members of what was known as the 'Scriblerus Club', wrote what is known as 'Juvenal satire'; satirical literature which was far less humorous and much more ironic, sarcastic and focused on politics than its predecessor, 'Horation satire'.
One of Swift's most famous satirical pieces, (other than 'Gulliver's Travels') is an essay entitled 'A Modest …show more content…
He states that 'all of Swift's satire was written in anger, contempt, or disgust, but it was written to promote self-knowledge in the faith that self-knowledge will lead to right action" ('The Pride of Lemuel Gulliver', 1955).
Swift uses satire to ridicule what he sees as humankind's flaws to the point that his readers, as humans, have no choice but the change their outlook and their actions.
From the tiny people of Lilliput, who refuse to admit their shortcomings, to the giants of Brobdingnag, who show how disgusting humanity can appear when observed too closely, to the Yahoos and Houyhnhnm that force readers to disassociate from humankind; Swift finds ways to satirise and ridicule some of the most integral parts of humanity and