Satire of Swift

Thursday, March 10     

Turn in Essay on Man discussion questions Discuss Essay on Man Enlightenment Literature: Satire American Enlightenment & Birth of Economics Homework:  Read

Book 4, pages 118-121  Read Swift’s A Modest Proposal (pages 119-121)  Bring Book 4 tomorrow!  Study for Vocab 11 Quiz  Independent reading book

Satire: Weapon of the Enlightenment  

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Satire as a weapon? Discrepancies between reality and Enlightenment ideals trigger protests and unrest. Tool of social reformers to draw attention to contradictions between:  Morals

and manners, intentions and actions  Enlightenment aspirations and contemporary injustice

Satire of Jonathon Swift (1667-1745) 

Irish  Traveled

between Ireland and England  Fought hard for Irish 

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Pessimistic view of human nature Gulliver’s Travels

A Modest Proposal (1729) 

Background:  Ireland

is a British

colony  Entirely dependant  Land loss and starvation 

Text mocked both Ireland and England

Satire 

Horatian: playfully criticizes some social vice through gentle, mild, and light-hearted humor. It directs wit, exaggeration, and self-deprecating humor toward what it identifies as folly, rather than evil. Alexander Pope's The Rape of Locke  The Onion, The Daily Show 

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Juvenalian: more abrasive satire; addresses social evil through scorn, outrage, and savage ridicule. This form is often pessimistic, characterized by irony, sarcasm, moral indignation and personal attack, with less emphasis on humor. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis  A Modest Proposal by Jonathon Swift 

American Psycho 

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Novel by Bret Easton Ellis, 1991 Movie starring Christian Bale, 2000 Satirizing the 80s  Consumerism

and Conspicuous Consumption  Superficiality – Nihilism  

Imagery Hyperbole

Scenes from American Psycho      

I am Patrick Bateman (first scene) Traditional Moral Values Calling Cards Mask of Sanity Shooting Spree No Catharsis (end scene)

Satire – Imagery and Hyperbole American Psycho  

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Examples of imagery Examples of hyperbole How are they used to support the satirical argument?

A Modest Proposal 

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What problem is stated? What is the author’s solution to the problem? How are imagery and hyperbole used? What emotions does it evoke?

Please answer in your notes:   

What problem does Swift identify? What solution does Swift propose? Swift uses satire as a means of social reform. Based on what we discussed in class and the reading, what aspects of society is Swift satirizing?  Cite

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examples from A Modest Proposal to support your answer.

In what ways is A Modest Proposal a good example of Juvenalian satire?  Juvenalian:

more abrasive satire; addresses social evil through scorn, outrage, and savage ridicule. This form is often pessimistic, characterized by irony, sarcasm, moral indignation and personal attack, with less emphasis on humor.

Homework: 

Hamlet Essay due Monday  Hard

copy in class  Tunrnitin.com by Midnight  

Read textbook pages 160 - 166 Bring Book 4 to class on Monday