Satire and comedy assignment
Satire and comedy assignment
Robert Harris (2004), points out that the best definitions of satire should be formulated from a combination of its corrective intent and its literary method of execution. He quotes Thrall’s definition as an acceptable definition of satire as follows: A literary manner that blends a critical attitude with humor and wit to the end that human institutions or humanity may be improved. The true satirist is conscious of the frailty of institutions of man’s devising and attempts through laughter not so much to tear them down as to inspire a remodeling.
It is important to note in the above definition that satire involves the fusion of laughter and contempt. Inseparable from any definition of satire is its corrective purpose. Ian Gordon (2002) points out the corrective purpose of the satirist saying that the satirist “ stands in opposition to the current state of affairs, endeavoring to change things either to what they were in a recalled and often mythologized, past, or to what they might be in a preferred, and frequently Utopian, future. It may follow from the above definitions that the corrective purpose of satire is expressed through a critical mode that includes laughter and contempt. Scholes and Sullivan (1986: 8) define satire based on the view of the world presented in a literary text. They argue, “ A work that presents a fictional world worse than the real world is in th e mode of anti-romance, or satire. ” They also suggest, “ The world of satire emphasizes ugliness and disorder. These authors’ claim remind us that the theme of satire can be presented through different techniques in order to maintain standards, reaffirm values, and to come up with reforms in the society. 15 To put it briefly, satire is concerned with the nature of reality. It exaggerates or understates to criticize human follies and vices for it has a corrective purpose. It reveals the contrast between reality and pretense; yet again, it uses comic devices in order to criticize and give us pleasure.
Johnston argues, “ The satirist believes that most people are blind, insensitive, and perhaps anesthetized by custom and resignation and dullness. The satirist wishes to make them see the truth – at least that part of the truth which they habitually ignore. ” Moreover, Johnston considers morality as an important characteristic of satire. To put it in his words: At the basis of every good traditional satire is a sense of moral outrage or indignation. This conduct is wrong and needs to be exposed.
Hence, to adopt a satiric stance requires a sense of what is right, since the target of the satire can only be measured as deficient if one has a sense of what is necessary for a person to be truly moral. Satire attacks socially objectionable behavior through humorous ways. It aims at amendment of vices by correction. As Feinberg (1967) writes on the characteristics of satire, its essential qualities are entertainment and its freshness. That is, “ the appeal of satire lies in its literary merit, brilliance, wit, humor, and freshness (7). Satire, therefore, shows old things in a new 17 way to reveal the contrast between reality and pretense through skillful manipulation of language. To put it in Feinberg’s (1967: 16) words: Satires are read because they are aesthetically satisfying as works of art, not because they are (as they may be) morally wholesome or ethically instructive. They are stimulating and refreshing because with commonsense briskness they brush away illusions and second hand opinions.
A brief discussion of the prominent techniques has been presented as follows. 2. 4. 1 Exaggeration Exaggeration is one of the most commonly used techniques in satire. Harris (2002), notes that exaggeration is one of the best ways to get the target to recognize or admit that a vice exists. The satirist exaggerates “ in order to make the unseeing see, and the seeing-but-complacent oppose and expunge corruption. ” Hence, exaggeration as a satirical technique plays an important role.
To use Feinberg’s (1967: 108) words: The exaggeration of satirists is not as purposeless as it tries to appear. What the satirist exaggerates is the bad, the foolish, the hypocritical; what he minimizes or omits is the good, the sensible, and the honest. The resulting scene is not only exaggerated but heavily biased-against the victims of the satirist’s attack. In other words, the satirist uses exaggeration to describe painful or absurd situations or foolish or wicked persons as vividly as possible.
It is a stylistic device or figure of speech in which the real meaning of the words is different from the literal meaning. As Muecke (1969: 3) puts it, “ irony may be a weapon in satirical attack. ” Likewise, Johnston (1998) notes that irony brings two contrasting meanings into play. Consequently, it becomes “ satiric when the real meaning appears to contradict the surface meaning. ” It should, however, be noted that irony is not confined to satire.
To put it briefly, satirists use a variety of literary devices. They may use various techniques, such as those described above, in order to say two or more things at one time, and to compare, equate, or contrast for satirical purposes. Moreover, these techniques provide variety, conciseness, and opportunity for employing wit and humor. In explaining the use of satirical techniques, Harris (2004) writes the following about satirical techniques:
In whichever form it appears comedy attempts to arouse and satisfy human instinct for mischief. In line with this, Fowler (1973: 31) has the following to say about the materials of comedy: “ Comedy in itself is neither morally useful nor immoral: it can perpetuate and extend misconceptions as well as ridicule them. Sometimes, however, dramatists use the irresponsible instinctual speed of comedy to lead the audience to a more complex intellectual awareness. ” According to John Morreall (http: //www. dbu. du/ mitchell/comedytr. htm) there are many characteristics that make up a comedy. One among them is the fact that comedy is more imaginative, stressing playfulness. For this reason, comedy tends to look for a variety of answers and does not need to solve everything. Secondly, comedy tends to call attention to the incongruities in the order of things, be it political, social, or religious. Thirdly, comic characters are often “ ironic and disengaged from the situation; they tend to respond with wit, imagination, or cynicism. 25 The other characteristic feature of comedy is that its language is fluent and articulate. To put it in Fowler’s words: ” Characters do not feel a need to develop exploratory, stretching uses of language to account for themselves and the world around them, but are satisfied that the relationships between them and the world are simple and comprehensible (1973: 32). ” It is also the nature of comedy to reveal playfulness. Even if it has its serious side, the comic vision tends to treat large portions of ife as not quite so serious. However, satiric comedy, according to Abrams (1971: 27) “ attacks the disorders of society by making ridiculous the violators of its standards of morals or manners. ” In addition to this, comedy involves exaggeration, incongruity, and contradictions as techniques. It also uses contrast between social order and individual, suspension of natural laws, and comic premise to provide structural and thematic unity for comic dialogue. Many argue that producing pleasure through laughter is the primary nature of comedy.
On the other hand, Sypher (1991: 148) states that the pleasure caused by the laughter of comedy is not a pure enjoyment. He further notes that it is not a pleasure that is exclusionary esthetic or altogether disintegrated. “ It always implies a secret or unconscious intent, if not of each one of us, at all events of society as a whole. ” Therefore, comedy may have a critical intent. Hence, comedy is not always a naive joke; nor is it always seriously stuffed with didactic moral issues.
Unflinching and undaunted we see where we are. This strengthens us as well as society. To put it briefly, apart from the pleasure that we get from it, comedy enables us to laugh at evils and errors of human beings. Consequently, it serves the purpose of psychological compensation. In other words, comedy helps us escape from the vices and follies of individuals and societies making us laugh at the imperfections of the world around us. Not only that, but comedy can also be quite in accord with stern morality.
It should, however, be noted here that what distinguishes satire from comedy, as Fowler (1973: 167) put it, is “ its lack of tolerance for folly or human imperfection. ” 2. 7 Satire and Comedy Satire and comedy often shade into each other in ways tha t make an exact borderline difficult to draw. Like satire, comedy has a corrective purpose. The New Encyclopedia Britannica (2005, 23, 151) highlights that “ the comic artist’s purpose is to hold a mirror up to society to reflect its follies and vices, in the hope that they will, as a result be mended. Correspondingly, Johnston shares this view of the corrective purpose of comedy. He argues that satire is a particular use of humor for overtly moral purposes. According to him, satire seeks to use laughter “ not just to remind us of our common often ridiculous humanity, but rather to expose those moral excesses, those 28 corrigible sorts of behavior which transgress what the writer sees as the limits of acceptable moral behavior. ” One characteristic feature of satire, as indicated earlier, is criticism and humor.