What's New About Satire? (Blogpost 2)

What makes satire, satire? Should one who wishes to use satire possess any special skills? What exactly is satire, and why is this blog post dedicated to it? Okay, so these may be some of the questions that you are asking yourself, and if you are, then you have clicked on the right blog post. Congratulations! I believe that I will start analyzing these questions in reverse order.

Let’s begin. What is satire? According to the Norton Anthology, satire is, simply, “a genre … the communication, in the form of a letter between equals, complaining of the ills of contemporary society” (A 23). Satire is designed to ridicule, usually directed towards a person or a specific class, to point out their absurdity. This leads us to the next question concerning what skills are needed by one who wishes to employ satire. Being that satire attempts to ridicule a determined individual, or group, the one using satire to accomplish this must know how to use literary devices such as irony, sarcasm, and mostly wit. It is important to know that satire has no ulterior motives for ill intentions. Instead, satire is used to cause the other person to see his/her own foolishness.

During the Enlightenment period, satire was becoming more and more popular. Literary critics, such as John Dryden, had a lot to say concerning satire and how to properly use it to draw attention to what was going on during this time. In his work, “An Essay of Dramatic Poesy”, Dryden shares his viewpoints concerning satire and mostly wit. According to Dryden, his main purpose in writing this essay was “’chiefly to vindicate the honor of our English writers from the censure of those who unjustly prefer the French before them’” (2251).

In accordance to satire, Dryden emphasizes the importance of wit. He writes, “A thing well said will be wit in all languages; and though it may lose something in the translation, yet to him who reads it in the original, ‘tis still the same:” (2252). In other words, according to Dryden, wit can be passed down, even through translations, yet still, be understood. According to Dryden, one must employ wit to be successfully satirical. However, this wit “…is best conveyed to us in the most easy language; and is most to be admired when a great thought comes dressed in words so commonly received that it is understood by the meanest apprehensions, as the best meat is the most easily digested” (2254). Yeah, Dryden expounded upon the fact that wit should come naturally and should not be forced, in case you were like me and was wondering what this quote is really saying.

Have you read Dryden’s mock-heroic satire “Mac Flecknoe”? If you haven’t, take a look at it so that you can get a sense of Dryden’s sense of satire. In this work, Dryden ridicules Thomas Shadwell with whom he had grown progressively irritated. Dryden uses wit and satire to remind his readers that monarchs are nothing more than mere human beings and to criticize Shadwell, comparing his works to feces and calling his work dull, impudent, and ignorant.

We experience modern uses of satire in many ways, such as articles on The Onion, through memes that we see on social media, and on television shows, such as Family Guy, Mad TV, and The Simpsons as well as other shows geared towards making light of contemporary events. Take a look at some of the clips below! 

• Family Guy: Almost every episode satirizes a plethora of topics ranging from world issues, politics, family, health, religion, and more.

The Simpsons: Satirizes ordinary life in many episodes. The writers of the show employ wit, exaggeration, and other techniques to achieve their purpose.

Mad TV: Even though the show ended in 2009, Mad TV was popular for its sketches that satirized popular TV shows, music and movies, and political and pop-culture humor.