A Brief History of Satire
By: Carmen Saleme
Satire is defined by M. H. Abrams as “the literary art of diminishing or derogating a subject by making it ridiculous and evoking toward it attitudes of amusement, contempt, scorn or indignation.” It has been a part of literary culture since the ancient Roman days, having been invented by the Romans themselves. The word “satire” comes from the Latin “satura”, which is based on the Greek “satyr”, a half-man half-horse creature who lived a carefree life. The Romans were heavily influenced by the Greeks and their writing styles/genres, often lacking originality in early Roman writing. For a time, it seemed the Romans only wanted to imitate the Greeks without developing their own ideas. However, Quintilian, a first century A.D. professor of rhetoric, analyzed Greek and Roman literature by genre. He deemed satire “entirely Roman,” declaring that nothing similar existed in Greek literature. While in many ways early Roman literature was derived from Greek literature, satire was wholly a Roman creation.
Satire is often difficult to identify, not necessarily because of the subject it may discuss, but because of what satire is responsible for conveying. For instance, satire often does not disclose an entirely new topic. Instead, satire often presents an old topic in an entirely new way. For instance, a particularly famous piece of satire titled “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift exposes the hypocrisy of the wealthy and tyrannical English by stringing together a set of morally flimsy positions impossible to support. While on a completely surface level Swift’s work argues for the disposal of young, impoverished children, an examination into whether or not his work is satire clearly reveals the sarcasm and true subject matter of his work.
Satire is a tricky genre for readers to analyze, as it is difficult to identify whether the author is posing a serious tone or argument, or a mocking one. The question “what exactly is satire?” can be raised to help identify a work’s nature, and it asks what the purpose of the piece is or what the “actual” subject matter is. This is where the line is blurred between satire or straight writing, as a satirical piece is written to seem serious but deal with potentially outlandish or controversial ideas (like those in Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”).
Despite the difficulties faced with determining a satirical piece, the genre is still a popular form of media today. The hit Comedy Central show The Colbert Report is a well known example, mimicking Republican-driven talk and news programs (specifically, The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News). The show is easily recognized as satirical due to the outrageously silly representation of Republicans through Stephen Colbert’s character, and the comedic delivery of trending news stories. However, in the case of the political commentary The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli, the distinction is much less clear. Machiavelli makes use of dozens of contradictions throughout his work, seemingly endorsing one position in one chapter and then completely undermining it in the next. While many in modern times read The Prince as a serious work of political commentary, a growing number of scholars are beginning to consider The Prince as a work of satire.
Satire is often difficult to identify, not necessarily because of the subject it may discuss, but because of what satire is responsible for conveying. For instance, satire often does not disclose an entirely new topic. Instead, satire often presents an old topic in an entirely new way. For instance, a particularly famous piece of satire titled “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift exposes the hypocrisy of the wealthy and tyrannical English by stringing together a set of morally flimsy positions impossible to support. While on a completely surface level Swift’s work argues for the disposal of young, impoverished children, an examination into whether or not his work is satire clearly reveals the sarcasm and true subject matter of his work.
Satire is a tricky genre for readers to analyze, as it is difficult to identify whether the author is posing a serious tone or argument, or a mocking one. The question “what exactly is satire?” can be raised to help identify a work’s nature, and it asks what the purpose of the piece is or what the “actual” subject matter is. This is where the line is blurred between satire or straight writing, as a satirical piece is written to seem serious but deal with potentially outlandish or controversial ideas (like those in Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”).
Despite the difficulties faced with determining a satirical piece, the genre is still a popular form of media today. The hit Comedy Central show The Colbert Report is a well known example, mimicking Republican-driven talk and news programs (specifically, The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News). The show is easily recognized as satirical due to the outrageously silly representation of Republicans through Stephen Colbert’s character, and the comedic delivery of trending news stories. However, in the case of the political commentary The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli, the distinction is much less clear. Machiavelli makes use of dozens of contradictions throughout his work, seemingly endorsing one position in one chapter and then completely undermining it in the next. While many in modern times read The Prince as a serious work of political commentary, a growing number of scholars are beginning to consider The Prince as a work of satire.
Works Cited:
Bogel, Fredric V. The Difference Satire Makes. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 2001. Print.
Coffey, Michael. Roman Satire. London, England: Methuen & Co Ltd, 1976. Print.
Sutherland, Jr., W.O.S The Art of The Satirist: Essays on the Satire of Augustan England. Austin, Texas: University of Texas, 1965. Print.
Coffey, Michael. Roman Satire. London, England: Methuen & Co Ltd, 1976. Print.
Sutherland, Jr., W.O.S The Art of The Satirist: Essays on the Satire of Augustan England. Austin, Texas: University of Texas, 1965. Print.