Contrast Between Satire in The Rape Of The Lock and A Modest Proposal
Although Alexander Pope's, "The Rape Of The Lock" and Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" are both witty satires, they differ on their style, intention, and mood.
To begin, in "The Rape Of The Lock," Alexander Pope uses Horation satire to invoke a light, whimsical, melancholy mood to illustrate the absurdity of fighting over the cutting of one's hair. In fact, Horation satire is defined by K. Lukes as a device that is: " urban, smiling, witty" and "seeks to correct the human foibles." and is further reiterated in The Concise Oxford Dictionary Of Literary terms as: "Horation satire, often contrasted with the bitterness of Juvenalian satire, is a more indulgent, tolerant treatment of human inconsistencies and follies, ironically amused rather than outraged" (101). Thus, Alexander Pope's intentions in writing "The Rape Of The Lock" was to turn an actual incident in which: "A young man Lord Petre, had sportively cut off a lock of a Miss Arabella Fermor's hair,"(Poetry, 211) into "jest ... so that good relations (and possibly negotiations toward a marriage between principals) might be resumed" (Poetry, 211) This type of satire is conveyed through Pope's use of mock epic form.
This satire first begins with Pope's invocation to the muses, a higher power, emphasizing that the tragedy about to occur is above mere worldly issues, and a debate that belongs amongst the gods. Hence, Pope writes: "What dire offense from amorous causes springs, / What mighty contests rise from trivial things, I sing-This verse to Caryll, Muse! is due" (English,1110). It is comical that the "dire offense" is the cutting of Belinda's hair rather than a life-threatening...
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...gh a twisted, absurd, fictitious proposal to condemn their actions, and thus, hopes to "shock" those involved into social change.
WORKS CITED
Allison, Barrows, Blake, et al. eds. The Norton Anthology Of Poetry . 3rd Shorter ed. New York: Norton, 1983. 211.
Baldick, Chris. The Concise Oxford Dictionary Of Literary Terms , New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
Lukes, K. B.A. (Hons.) (Alberta), M.A. (Brit. Col.), English. English 424 Section:3 Term 93/3 Class Lectures Sept. 1993
Pope, Alexander. "The Rape Of The Lock". In The Norton Anthology Of English Literature: The Major Authors . Ed. M.H. Abrams et al. 5th Ed. New York: Norton, 1987. 1108-1128
Swift, Jonathan. "A Modest Proposal". In The Norton Anthology Of English Literature: The Major Authors. Ed. M.H. Abrams et al. 5th ed. New York: Norton, 1987. 1078-1085
In addition, the wit that is contained within “A Modest Proposal” is astonishing and superb. Although some have taken “A Modest Proposal” seriously and actually thought that Swift was trying to propose to boil infants and eat them. The reader cannot yield that seriously and if the reader does then it would co...
In his lengthy literary career, Jonathan Swift wrote many stories that used a broad range of voices that were used to make some compelling personal statements. For example, Swifts, A Modest Proposal, is often heralded as his best use of both sarcasm and irony. Yet taking into account the persona of Swift, as well as the period in which it was written, one can prove that through that same use of sarcasm and irony, this proposal is actually written to entertain the upper-class. Therefore the true irony in this story lies not in the analyzation of minute details in the story, but rather in the context of the story as it is written.
Although Alexander Pope's, The Rape of the Lock, and Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal are both witty satires, they differ on their style, intention, and mood.
This essay will have no value unless the reader understands that Swift has written this essay as a satire, humor that shows the weakness or bad qualities of a person, government, or society (Satire). Even the title A Modest Proposal is satirical. Swift proposes using children simply as a source of meat, and outrageous thought, but calls his propo...
In “A Modest Proposal” several forms of satire are demonstrated throughout the story. Satire is defined as the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose or criticize people’s stupidity or vices. (Google) In "A Modest Proposal" Swift uses parody which is a form of satire. Parody is primarily making fun of something to create a humorous feel for it. In “A Modest Proposal,” Swift uses parody to make fun of the people and children of Ireland, expressing the children as delicious food to be eaten.
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Perhaps people are faced with these experiences as tests. Our own reaction to it determines whether we pass or fail. Do we appreciate what we do have and learn from the experience or do we feel sorry for ourselves and let it drag us down?
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Abrams, M.H., ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 1993.
Daniel, Kathleen. Elements of Literature, Sixth Course Literature of Britain. Austin, Texas: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1997.