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¡io Contexts in Literature Satire Jane Ogborn and Peter Buckroyd Approaching the subject e Whatis satire? e Where does satire come from? e Issatire a genre? e Does satire always stand the test of time? e Whatdoes reading and writing about satire involve? e Howimportant are different kinds of contextto understanding satire? What is satire? What distinguishes salire from other kinds of writing, whether its prevailing tone is comic or more serious, is the moral purpose of the satirist — the desire to mend the world", The author, the playwright, the scriptwriter, the impersonator, or he stand- up comic has a view of how people and society should behave morally, and contrasls this with whal he or she sees as the vices and follies of the time. This is also true of the producers of visual as well as written texts, for example in the work of the 18lh- century artist, William Hogarth (1697-1764): the political carloonists and caricalurists, Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827), James Gillray (1757-1815) and George Cruikshank (1792-1878); or Steve Bell at the end of the 20th century. It is possible Lo begin to establish some definitions of satire as a written form through the following quotations from the work of writers during the great age of satire, the 181h century: “Tis the intent and business of the stage. To copy out the follies of the age. To hold to every man a faithful glass, And show him of what species he's an ass. (John Vanburgh The Provoked Wife, first performed 1697) Satire, being levelled at alt, is never resented for an offence by any. (Jonathan Swift Preface Tale of a Tub, 1704) Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their ovwn. (Jonathan Swift Preface Battle of the Books, 1704) A O A The progress of satire The Renaissance (meaning rebirth) is the name given to the period of European history which stretches from approximalely 1450 to 1600. It.is a period of 'rebirth” because during this time scholars, especially in Europe, rediscovered Greek and Roman culture, and began to read classical authors for their own sake, as literature. In England, the Renaissance is usually seen as encompassing the reigns of Henry VIII, Elizabeúx Y and James 1. the poetry of Spenser, the plays of Shakespeare and Marlowe, the Jacobean tragedies of Webster, the poetry of Milton and Donne. From the Renaissance onwards. the works of Horace and Juvenal, along with those oí the other great Greek and Roman authors, including llomer, Virgil and Ovid, were the set books in an educated person's reading. Caxton's introduction of printing into England in 1478 had an enormous influence on the availability of the work ol Chaucer and other English, European and classic authors. However, with the exception of Ben Jonsor's plays, it is not a period known primarily for its production of salire, In contras! the 100 years from 1860, beginning with the Resloralion, are recognised as the key period of English satirical writing. lt encompasses the Augustan age, so called in imitation of the period in ancient Rome when Augustus Caesar was the first emperor and which was considered to be lhe greatest period of Latin literature. Many English writers produced their own translations or versions of classic works, including the satires of Horace and Juvenal. The influence of the classics on the writers of the period, in the poetry of Dryden, Pope and Johnson especially, is very clear, For exampie, the “Epistle to Arbuthnot' is Alexander Pope's Prologue to his own imitation of Horace's satires, and Dr Johnson based his 'London' (1738) and *The Vanity of Human Wishes' (1749) on Juvenal's Satires 3 and 10 respectively. The 18th century also saw the development of prose satire, most powerfully in the work of Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), It would probably be impossible to find a satirist writing after the publication of Culliver's Travels or A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Ireland from being a Burden to their Parents or Country who has not been influenced by his work. Tn prose. the strands of comedy and moral purpose come together laler in the work of many 19th-century and 20th-century novelists. Even where salire may not be the prime purpose of the text, as for example in Charles Dickens' Bleak House, the satirical portrayal of a minor character such as Mr Turveydrop contributes to the nove!'s main themes of exposing selfishness, hypocrisy and the exploilation of others. In the 20th century, Aldous Huxley and Evelyn Waugh use satire as the vehicle for social comment. In Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty Four George Orwell uses satire for political commentary, and to warn of future danger rather than trying to effect moral improvement, The 18th century as the “golden age' of satirical writing Apossible reason for the predominance of satire throughout this lime fa period also known, significantly, as the Age of Reason), may be related to lhe reaction of people against the period of division and disorder they had experienced during the Civil War of the 1640s, combined with the teachings of contemporary philosophers such as Mobbes and Locke. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), writing during he English Civil War, argued that human society is governed by two major concerns, both at the individual and at the political level: fear and the desire for power. This was a more cynical view than John Locke's (1632-1704). Both believed in the need for a 'social contract! and responsible government. but whereas Hobbes thought that it was necessary to prevent war and violence, Locke thought that human beings were predominantly reasoning creatures, and that society would therefore spontaneously be governed by civilised rules and would naturally seek order and harmony. Whether people took llobbes' pessimistic view of society, or Locke's optimistic one, satire became a necessary and effective method of drawing atlention to the ways in which human behaviour falls short of its ideal, and of trying lo correct thal, within an accepted political and social framework. "To cure the vices of mankind”, as Jonathan Swift pul it, became the job of the satirist. ll is this moral purpose which underlies all the great satirical achievements of the period from lhe poetry of Dryden, Pope and Johnson to the paintings of William Hogarth. P- Compare the extract from Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel and SwifUs A Meditation upon a Broomstick' (Part 3, pages 43-44 and pages 49-50). How clear is the underlying moral purpose in each passage? Satire as a fiterary genre + Is satire a genre in its own right, oris ¡tone of the methods available to a writer? + Can satire appear in any literary form: prose, poetry or drama? The broad outline of the origins and development of satire given above and sketched in the Time line (see pages 6-7) may suggest that some satire in English literature (for example, Pope's “Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot or Johnson's Vanity of Human Wishes', imitating the forms established by classical authors) is a poetic genre in its own right, like the epic or the lyric. But satire can also be a larger literary genre, like the lhriller, the romance or the western, and it can be produced in any literary form: prose, poetry or drama. The writer's purpose for the text as a whole determines whether the satire is genre or method. If, as in the case of Jonathan Swift, the purpose is clearly to expose human weakness and folly, most specifically the political, legal, religious, o scientific and social weaknesses, follies and abuses of 18th-century England, as he does in Gulliver's Travels. then the text is a satire. It is not a novel, a travelogue or an autobiography, although all those forms of prose are called into play as part of ít. If as in Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the development of themes through the telling of the slory and the interplay of characters is more important, lhen satire is a part of the writer's method rather than the prime motive for lhe text. Make a list of the satirical texts with which you are familiar. How easy (or helpful) do you find it to classify thern under “genre' or “method? Standing the test of time The subject of the satire is likely to determine whether or not the satire has staying power. Today, most satire is found in the work of cartoonists, TV impersonators. stand-up comics and journalists, all ofwhom draw on immediate events and personalities currently well known to the public Lo make their poinls. Here the target tends to be impermanent and ephemeral — individual politicians, for example. It is good for a quick laugh. but is much less tikely to endure. Satire is most likely to last when its target is some aspect of human behaviour. Carol Ann Duffy's Poet for Our Times' will make hís paint as long as the Labloid press exists, and would have been recognisable to Swift or Dickens, and perhaps even to Chaucer. Read Carol Ann Duffy's Poet For Our Times' (Part 3, pages 93-94). Who and what are the targets for her satire? Which do you think this poem attacks - folly or vice? The language of satire Apart from its moral purpose, the features which distinguish satire from other kinds of writing are its flexibility of tone, and its consistent use of wit and irony. The most consistent target for satire in any period is hypocrisy, and the most consistently common method which satirists employ is irony. lrony expects the reader to be always alert to the conflict between the literal and the actual meanings of what is being said. So readers need to be able to read closely, to draw inferences from a text and to make deductions, and also to make connections between the text and their own experiences, To discuss satire a reader needs a wide vocahulary of descriptive words for the diflerent ways in which criticism of human behaviour can be expressed: comic, humorous, sarcastic, sardonic, witty. urbane, caustic, vituperative, savage. As part of the context within which the discussion of a satire Lakes place, some appreciation of the different forms or styles which a satirist may choose to employ is useful, since writers often make use of different literary forms to create a comic or satirical effect through parody (an imitation ofan original text) or pastiche (writing in the style of another author). Understanding satire in different contexts The initial impetus for a satire lies in lhe age in which ¡t was written. Consequentiy, for readers al a later date appreciating the finer points of the contemporary references is probably always going Lo be as difficull as understanding why many of the jokes in Shakespeare's plays were funny at 1he time. However, because the satirists' purpose is to expose human hypocrisy, vice and folly, and because these aspects of human behaviour are not parlicular to any one historical period. readers at any subsequent moment in time can at least see the point and get the message. Knowing the specific details of when a satirical text was produced, and what the social, political or personal circumstances were which gave rise lo it, can add to and deepen that understanding. But unless a reader can see how the satirist is using language Lo show often unpalatable trulhs about individuals and their society, historical detail and background information will be so much second-hand baggage. 
