For years, one of the single greatest techniques available to writers has been a sense of satire and dark humor. Former satirist, Voltaire, have motivated modern day writers like Libba Bray to create what some might consider thoughtful laughter with in a satire novel. Voltaire and Bray unique style from different eras both share a common goal of targeting an intended audience through diction, exaggeration, and invectiveness. By analyzing Candide (Voltaire) and Beauty Queens(Bray) by the “true test of comedy” you will see in each novel it is expressed by it diction and tone.
For example, one way he shows satire is in the beginning of the prompt he says “country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism”(Twain). Twain is showing how the soldiers were ready for war that even their chest was on fire because of how much patriotism they had. When soldiers go to war I don't think there breast burned them for feeling patriotic. This shows how ironic he is because that didn't really happen. Twain trys to explain to the people how the soilders were so happy to go fight and knew they were going to win
Chaucer wrote the book: The Canterbury Tales, in which a group of men going on a journey all tell a tale. Within each tale is a moral lesson as well as each tale consists of a corrupt action committed within the church and is conveyed by those kind of characters within the story. One of the tales that Chaucer tells in his book is called: The pardoner 's tale. Within this tale the pardoner (who is telling the tale) is a preacher who often gives sermons but admits that he does is solely for money and not to condemn people of their sins. (Greed)
Humans often build expectations for a person with a certain position, so when someone does not fit within the boundaries of the expectations of the position, it seems wrong. However, it is just that we are forgetting the true complexity of human beings. No human is perfect, which means no human will fit into one set category. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses satire to show the irony in how a person’s label does not necessarily say anything about his or her actions. A typical woman of Chaucer’s time was the complete opposite of the Lady of Bath.
After reviewing the two tales “ The Pardoner's Tale” and “ The Wife of Bath's Tale” told by Chaucer, one tale effects me the most. Out of the two tales, I believe “The Pardoner's Tale” has better moral values and is more entertaining than, “The Wife of Bath”. The first reason that makes”The Pardoner's Tale” effective is the
Satire was originally designed to attack vice or folly (Griffin 4). Most of the early work that used satire had a great deal of ridicule and wit in the writing style. This was used to demonstrate the character in a way that was still morally correct. Horace used satirical elements in most of his work to “seeks to laugh men out of their follies” (Griffin 7). This means that the use of satire in many early works was used to criticize an individual until that individual saw the errors in their ways.
Throughout literature, authors have used multiple different styles of writing to convey information and ideas to readers. One of these ways of expressing their thoughts is the use of satire. Satire is the use of humor, such as irony or exaggeration to denounce others' views and ways of life. One author who utilized this style of writing is Mark Twain in his novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Fin. In the novel, the text is littered with moments and events that poke fun at American social institutions.
As when first born.--And, sirs, that’s how I preach. ”(914-915). To sum up, Chaucer has littered irony all throughout “The Pardoner’s Tale”: in the prologue, tale, and epilogue. Chaucer has also use three different types of irony within the story: verbal, situational, and dramatic irony. All in all, the irony used was meant to show how society is deliberately ignorant at times for self gain, this is still occuring today as it did during Chaucer's time.
He also utilized fabliaux to fill his stories with multiple sexual accounts that poke fun at the rules of courtly love. Chaucer’s humor had three main components – mockery, irony, and sadism. John, an older carpenter, with a young wife, is at the center of “The Miller’s Tale.” Chaucer mocks John for marrying a younger woman and the fact that their relationship does not follow the rules of courtly love. Courtly love suggests that jealousy strengthens relationships and equates to love.
Jonathan Swift is an enlightenment thinker that uses satire in his writings to bring awareness to the political power and mistreatment of the people of Ireland, ‘‘he was angry or in a fit of despair over Ireland 's economic condition’’(DeGategno). Swift uses satire throughout his proposal, by suggesting to the people of Ireland that they should harvest the little children of the poor. Swift stated that by making ‘‘Them Beneficial to the Public", Ireland would be in a better circumstance. Swift proposed that the poor children 's guardians should give birth to however many number of children as would be possible and offer them for sustenance. Instead of Swift addressing the issue straightforward, Swift used Satire ¬¬¬¬which employs irony sayings- one thing while meaning its opposite—in order to present an argument.
Dramatic irony, in literature, is used to show the obliviousness of one or more characters to what is going on around them. It is for the reader, or audience, to gain more knowledge on the character that the character himself is unaware of. In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, more specifically “The General Prologue,” the narrator uses this dramatic irony to introduce the pilgrims who embark on the journey to the Canterbury Cathedral. In particular, the monk and the friar are introduced by the narrator with great prestige. They are described with honor and holiness.
Satire is the use of humor, irony, or exaggeration to reveal and criticize people’s vices. It becomes a success when the writer can make his readers believe the idea given is not only logical, but practical. While certain satires are appealing in their obvious disgust of humanity, other works are not so blatant in their mockery, presenting more realistic situations. Aldous Huxley employed such tactics in Brave New World. In Brave New World, Huxley explores this idea of a society controlled by pleasure, ignorance, and conditioning.
Satire is used in literature to criticize and point out society’s flaws. The criticism is usually masked in humour. Irony is commonly used in satires to expose flaws, an effective example is John Smith’s A Modest Proposal, he effectively uses irony, to communicate his argument about the poverty in Ireland at the time. Similarly, in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale she criticizes the society that women live in. Atwood uses allusions to the Old Testament, Cultural Revolution, Salem Witch Trials, and the Taliban to satirize the oppression of women in political, religious and social aspects.
THE PROLOGUE TO CANTERBURY TALES AS THE PORTRAIT GALLERY OF 14TH CENTURY ENGLAND Geoffrey Chaucer was the greatest poet of middle ages and known as the father of English Literature. The fourteenth century England is significant because the devastation of the Black Death and the Peasant’s Revolt, the Hundred Years War with France and the great economic and social changes took place during this medieval century. Renaissance was also in the early stages of development.
He uses the characters in his stories to help him achieve his goal while writing. Geoffrey Chaucer uses satire to reveal corruption, critique patriarchy, and appraise class and nobility. Chaucer 's use of satire aided him on revealing the corruption of the church. In his story, “The Canterbury Tales,” he shows that many members of the church use their positions for their own personal gain.
