Writing Help 129 | - ☆ Freelance Writer
Apr 05, 2013 | #1
Terms You Need for Writing about the Novel
The critical debate surrounding the precise definition of satire has been going on since at least the time of the Romans, who invented the form of the verse satire and who employed it frequently in their drama. If the critics have been wrestling with the term, students have found it almost impenetrable to formal definition, and when combined with such terms as sarcasm, irony, polemic, and parody, which all overlap with various aspects of satire, the result is a confusion that is difficult to untangle.
Satire is often referred to as a genre, and this contention is supportable, although I think it confuses the definition of genre somewhat. Instead, I would argue that satire is a mode of writing, a certain way of making statements and combining them that results in a given effect, and creates a MAT (Mood, Atmosphere, and/or Tone) which prepares the reader to take what is presented in a satirical way. Since satire has no specific content, and since it is not restricted to a given form or even a single style, it resides in a more subtle distinction that genre can provide.
A satire is a work that points out the problems and follies of a given entity through some combination of wit, irony, parody, sarcasm, and exaggeration. The work must treat its subject extensively, and must hold it up for ridicule by highlighting its most representative features. Humor, while perhaps not absolutely essential for satire to be present, is almost never absent in a satirical work, and even the most hard-edged satirical attacks employ humor to achieve their libelous, defaming goals. If a novel or other literary work causes us to look at something and laugh at it (though never with it; if the thing is trying to be funny or ridiculous, it ceases to be a good target for satire), we are likely in the presence of satire. Good examples in contemporary culture include comic "roasts," where an individual is held up for ridicule in a good-natured but often very biting way, and such late-night comic variety skit shows as Saturday Night Live and Mad TV, as well as the monologues of such hosts as Jay Leno and David Letterman. No target is off limits, and the more outrageous the accusations and the more exaggerated the portrayals, the more amusing and satirical the comedy becomes.
Perhaps more than any other literary mode, satire relies heavily on its audience, as well as the cultural content in which it exists. In other works of fiction, whether historical or fantastic, the reader does not need to know anything very specific to understand and enjoy the work. Even in the case of a work of historical fiction, the reader may benefit from knowing about the details of the event being described, but because the novel will illustrate the events anyway, such prior knowledge is not necessary. Satire, on the other hand, simply ceases to exist in the presence of an audience that does not know the entities which are the targets of the satire. Imagine a parody of the American president, for example, which satirizes his poor command of the written and spoken word. The potential for comedy is certainly there without knowledge of the actual president, but there can be no satire if the audience does not realize that the president is actually not linguistically adept, a trait which is being exaggerated in the parody. One of the best literary examples comes from Swift's A Modest Proposal, where he suggests that the solution to the problems with the Irish poor is the consumption of their children by the English! At the time it was written, the conflict between the British and Irish would have been well known, and the various figures and proposals which are being satirized would have been prominent in the public consciousness. Many students today, however, see the work as sincere, rather than satirical, because it is written in such a straight, serious way. Satire needs its targets, but without a comprehending audience to "get it," it cannot exist.
Satire
The critical debate surrounding the precise definition of satire has been going on since at least the time of the Romans, who invented the form of the verse satire and who employed it frequently in their drama. If the critics have been wrestling with the term, students have found it almost impenetrable to formal definition, and when combined with such terms as sarcasm, irony, polemic, and parody, which all overlap with various aspects of satire, the result is a confusion that is difficult to untangle.
Satire is often referred to as a genre, and this contention is supportable, although I think it confuses the definition of genre somewhat. Instead, I would argue that satire is a mode of writing, a certain way of making statements and combining them that results in a given effect, and creates a MAT (Mood, Atmosphere, and/or Tone) which prepares the reader to take what is presented in a satirical way. Since satire has no specific content, and since it is not restricted to a given form or even a single style, it resides in a more subtle distinction that genre can provide.A satire is a work that points out the problems and follies of a given entity through some combination of wit, irony, parody, sarcasm, and exaggeration. The work must treat its subject extensively, and must hold it up for ridicule by highlighting its most representative features. Humor, while perhaps not absolutely essential for satire to be present, is almost never absent in a satirical work, and even the most hard-edged satirical attacks employ humor to achieve their libelous, defaming goals. If a novel or other literary work causes us to look at something and laugh at it (though never with it; if the thing is trying to be funny or ridiculous, it ceases to be a good target for satire), we are likely in the presence of satire. Good examples in contemporary culture include comic "roasts," where an individual is held up for ridicule in a good-natured but often very biting way, and such late-night comic variety skit shows as Saturday Night Live and Mad TV, as well as the monologues of such hosts as Jay Leno and David Letterman. No target is off limits, and the more outrageous the accusations and the more exaggerated the portrayals, the more amusing and satirical the comedy becomes.
Perhaps more than any other literary mode, satire relies heavily on its audience, as well as the cultural content in which it exists. In other works of fiction, whether historical or fantastic, the reader does not need to know anything very specific to understand and enjoy the work. Even in the case of a work of historical fiction, the reader may benefit from knowing about the details of the event being described, but because the novel will illustrate the events anyway, such prior knowledge is not necessary. Satire, on the other hand, simply ceases to exist in the presence of an audience that does not know the entities which are the targets of the satire. Imagine a parody of the American president, for example, which satirizes his poor command of the written and spoken word. The potential for comedy is certainly there without knowledge of the actual president, but there can be no satire if the audience does not realize that the president is actually not linguistically adept, a trait which is being exaggerated in the parody. One of the best literary examples comes from Swift's A Modest Proposal, where he suggests that the solution to the problems with the Irish poor is the consumption of their children by the English! At the time it was written, the conflict between the British and Irish would have been well known, and the various figures and proposals which are being satirized would have been prominent in the public consciousness. Many students today, however, see the work as sincere, rather than satirical, because it is written in such a straight, serious way. Satire needs its targets, but without a comprehending audience to "get it," it cannot exist.