Candide As A Satire

The eighteenth century is known as history’s greatest age of satire. Social reformers used satire as a weapon to draw attention to the vast contradictions between morals and manners, intentions and actions, and between the Enlightenment aspirations and contemporary degradation. In France, Francois-Marie Arouet, who used the pen name Voltaire, was inspired by Swift’s satires. Voltaire described human folly as a universal condition. In his writing, he described bigotry as a man-made evil, and injustice as institutional evil. He advocated for freedom of thought and expression. In 1717, his satires led to his imprisonment in the Bastille, a French prison. In his satirical masterpiece, Candide, Voltaire mocked optimism where Candide, the main character, kept saying this is “the best of all possible worlds” as he encountered repeated horrors. Candide remains the classic statement of comic skepticism in Western literature.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is the foremost musical genius of the eighteenth century and some would say of all time.

Mozart was the son of a prominent composer. Mozart performed his own pieces, particularly his piano concertos. He moved easily between light musical genres and classical instrumental forms, investing both with extraordinary melodic grace. In his operas as well as his symphonies, Mozart achieved a balance between lyrical invention and formal clarity that brought the classical style to its peak. In The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart scorned the upper class which is readily apparent in the piece. Mozart used his characters to level a pointed attack at the decadence of the European aristocracy. He wrote many amazing pieces, but unfortunately he died of the age of thirty-six and died

poor.
Voltaire and Mozart were passionate about their work. They were not privileged writers and used their platform to express their disagreement with the way the aristocrats were. Voltaire express his points in writing, and this influenced William Hogarth to use satire in paintings. Voltaire was so passionate about his writing that he did not care about what the aristocrats thought. His writings did eventually led him to imprisonment in the Bastille, the French state prison. Mozart’s music were never sentimental, but retained the precision and clarity of the classical style.
I found it really interesting that Mozart died a poor man. I researched about the cost for a Mozart concert in Vienna and the cheapest I found was between $61.53 and $393.81. He died poor, but his classical music live to this day and people are playing and paying to see them. Many great painters, artist, writers and musician do not live to see how much their work have influenced the world or get a chance to collect all the money their work brings in. I am thankful that these people shared their work so I can learn more about the eras I did not live in.