Satire is not so much a literary form, as it is a
writing technique. It is not the common
criticism that makes a
story satire; nor is it an attempt to
preach morals, or a
subtle humour. It is the manner of
writing through which
the author attempts these goals, which renders a
piece of work truly
satirical in nature. It is
the method of satire which gives it a unique status; a
subtle, or sometimes glaring,
modification from
the norm, a change that forces us to
rearrange our own expectations. This change can happen anywhere in a story; in the
character, in the
plot, in the
setting. An expectation of the story, usually generated by
association with another, more famous & established
story, is utterly
crucial to the effectiveness of the
alteration. It becomes central, and the
purposefulness the change wields grabs our attention and forces an
analysis of intent.
Satire is not defined by what it does, but how it does it.
In the history of English literature, the technique of satire, of the purposeful alteration, has been used primarily to critique or preach morals in a public forum, in a less offensive way. An early and notable form of satire, The Rape of the Lock, is an excellent example of our definition of satire. The story presents itself as an epic, and we expect it to unfold so. If one had not read an epic before, such as Paradise Lost, the story would be ineffective as a form of satire as one would have no expectation to operate on, and then fail to recognize the satirical changes in the work. Hopefully one has read one, and is shocked to find that although the story is in epic form, it is about nothing worth detailing in the least: a tea-time get-together of nobility which ends up in a squabble. It is in the purpose of this alteration we recognize the purpose of the author: a painstaking exposé of the triviality of these people's conflicts, made all the more apparent by our expectation of something important.
The trend of satire continues to develop through English history, although it is less strong today(as of 2002). If one wanted, it could be traced back as far as Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, though in a watered-down form. Strong classical examples include many of Jonathan Swift's works, notably Gulliver's Travels. In said story, many critiques of politics are made by Swift setting up alternate civilizations where things operate on bizarrely unexpectable systems, and where citizens hold opinions very contrary to our(the English's) own. Once again, upon analysis, these systems become meaningful in the rift between what they are and what one would expect - but the ridiculousness of their government workings suddenly shed light on the ridiculousness of our government's workings, revealed when our expectation was shattered. Interestingly, In Hard Times, Charles Dickens uses satire not as a central form of writing, but as a sideplot for amusement and subtle enlightenment. In the second chapter, the account of a classroom is made, where one begins to expect that children are being educated, enlightened, and inspired. When we slowly discover that the teacher is crushing the children's fancies because he believes them to be obscuring the glory of fact, our expectations are alarmed, and we begin to wonder where else in the world such mistakes are made.
Upon examination, satire is a purposeful and ironic technique, usually put to work as a form of critique, humor, and/or moral-preaching. However, it has also been used as a sideplot for comic relief in serious stories, by such examples as Dickens and Shakespeare. In that medium, satire is refreshing and can often shed a different sort of light on the themes of the work that surrounds it. Upon further examination, we see satire has strong ties to irony; that the reader's expectation is the key which unlocks it, perhaps rendering satire a more active form of irony itself. Satire's uses, historically, are very well-defined; and this limits our ideas of what it can and cannot do. Limits them to the extent that one usually believes that the doings of a work define satire, and not the structure of the work itself! Still, satire is a powerful method of removing wool from the eyes of others: and forcing learning upon those who do not truly intend to learn. No wonder it found the niche it tries hard not to retire from. Regardless, satire is merely a technique, and can be used in a variety of mediums, to further a variety of causes.