Jonathan Coachman

Satire is a form of writing that makes use of humor, irony, and exaggeration to criticize a group of people’s views about a certain topic that is going on in the world. Satire has been around for a long time, but it has kept the same general aspects throughout all of time. Even with the 2,000 year-gap and differences in writing techniques and technology between “The Acharnians” and Stephen Colbert’s “The Word: Armistice,” both works utilize satire and have a very similar way of presenting it to…

Fire destroyed most of London, the English Parliament enacted Penal Laws, the Boston Tea Party occurred, and the American Revolution began. Meanwhile, writers of the Restoration Era, such as Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope, focused their writings on the trend of satire, verbal irony, and also parody. Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope wrote in the Restoration Era. The Restoration Period began in 1660 when King Charles II took the throne. The Restoration Period lasted from 1660 to 1785, most…

Alain de Botton once said, “The chief aim of humorists is not merely to entertain, but to convey the impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly.” This quote shows that there is more to writing than just to entertain. Through writing, writers often convey messages that are not easily spoken about, such as criticizing a global trend or idea, by lightening up the topic and underlying messages through the usage of satire and humor. Joshua Ferris uses humor and satire…

“Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face, but their own” (Swift). Jonathan Swift, a satirical writer during the eighteenth century, made an excellent metaphor revealing that satire is written in such a way that the author exposes only what they want the reader to know. This same metaphor will reign true even today in modern satirical writing within the structure, tone, and what the writings are used for; dependent upon the point of view, I personally…

Commisso 10 According to the LiteraryDevices Editors satire is, ?A technique employed by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society by using humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule.?[endnoteRef:1] Satire?s ultimate purpose is to change public opinion about a certain topic. Ambrose Bierce is the perfect example of how satire is employed in literature because of his cynical demeanor and philosophical nature. Bierce?s work as a satirist demonstrates…

Time has altered the way people think, behave and interact. Satire films is an effective representation of those transformations. Satire falls under the major genre category of film, comedy, a ‘professional entertainment consisting of jokes and satirical sketches, intended to make an audience laugh’.() The reason is that satire often use comedy to portray then discredit whether a person or a social idea. Parody at the same time has many similarities compared to satire that they both incorporate…

mocked the rich people and the church leaders and basically laughing in their faces as they tax them and turning them into the criminals and thieves and “...pick up a livelihood by stealing,...”(“Jonathan”) that they are trying to stop when they are the ones pushing them to become thieves and criminals. Jonathan Swift did, in fact, achieve what he was trying to accomplish through this essay. This essay is an excellently executed example of Juvenalian…

As the clock strikes eleven, with the world being only minutes away from being fast asleep, the TV comes to life with late night talk shows and comedic entertainment. The humor and skits capture each viewer into a mesmerizing trance, leaving everyone in tears from the hysterical performance. What the viewers don’t realize is not only are they being entertained, but they are also being informed on current issues. Each show is made by men and women who are not only facetious, but are also very…

In a 1906 speech, during the time known as the Progressive Era, President Theodore Roosevelt warned the American people against muckrakers. Roosevelt expressed his negative feelings towards newspapers, magazines, and books that attacked public figures with insults and lies. In summary, his speech declared that it is good for reporters to state the bad things that bad people did in the government. However, there are many muckrakers who lied about government and corporate figures for good…

By the time James Gillray began his prolific career as a caricaturist, European interest in the ‘science’ of physiognomy was being reawakened and popularized by Enlightenment scholars, most significantly through the writings of Johann Caspar Lavater. Lavater attempted to decipher the universal language of facial expression and outer appearance to understand and categorize the hidden character traits of humans. A caricaturist by definition will purposely exaggerate and distorting the human form…