Satire-Moliere-Voltaire -- Swift Satire in Tartuffe, Candide

Satire-moliere-Voltaire -- swift

Satire In Tartuffe, Candide And A Modest Proposal

Generally speaking, satire is a literary form or work which exploits human vices, such as greed, avarice and jealousy, in order to ridicule. Some of the literary devices used to accomplish satire include wit, irony and sarcasm which exposes or discredits human foibles. Satire is usually directed at individuals or institutions with political or social leanings and serves, at times, as pure entertainment for the reading public. It also is used to illuminate certain conditions or situations that exhibit unjust or discriminatory traits. Three writers stand out as exemplary proponents of satire-Francois de Voltaire (1694-1778), author of Candide, Jean Baptiste Moliere (1622-1673), author of Tartuffe, and Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), author of the satiric piece a Modest Proposal. Thus, the ideals expressed by these authors in the above works focus on the human condition as it relates to man and his environment and serves as attacks filled with irony and metaphor.

As one of the greatest writers of the so-called "Age of Enlightenment," Voltaire

uses satire in a scathingly brilliant way, especially regarding Candide, the main character in the novel. Permeated by the human condition, Candide is a young man full of great optimism and sees the world as one filled with much hope and possibility. But Voltaire the satirist steadily destroys all optimism, something that goes completely against the ideals and tenets of the Enlightenment which stressed that rational thinking was the key to ending all human strife and suffering.

Thus, Voltaire applies satire in such a way as to demonstrate through the actions and revelations of Candide that the world is not what it appears to be on the surface, and throughout the novel, Voltaire inserts satirical assertions that the workings of human existence are actually nothing more than mocking parodies, especially regarding the pursuit of happiness which is often infused with much misery. Also, Candide himself stands as a satirical figure who represents all the human ills linked to ignorance, mental weakness, hatred and hostility, while Voltaire the author satirizes the evils created by man as they exist within in religious, political and social/cultural systems, particularly those associated with the "Age of Enlightenment."

In the five-act comedic play Tartuffe, Moliere appears to have injected the worst traits of those that he despised in life, such as the rejection of human values, hypocrisy, arrogance and gullability, into the main characters. Satirically, the character of Orgon, the husband of Elmire, is the best example of this injection of traits, for he is the ultimate dupe and symbolizes Moliere's finest use of comedy, parody and human psychology. Orgon is a very cruel and selfish person and poses as a threat to his entire family via his rejection of human decency and his overtly boisterous piety.

Therefore, Moliere is satirizing the character of Orgon via his religious piety and self-righteousness; in essence, he is the ultimate hypocrite who preaches one way of living but practices another. In the mind of Moliere, Orgon has no redeeming human values or ideals yet he uses Orgon as a satirical example on how malicious and evil a person can be while espousing fake moral values in order to elevate himself in society and in the eyes of his family and friends.

In a Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift, best-known for Gulliver's Travels, serves up a most delicious recipe overflowing with satire and parody. The title of this piece tells much, for Swift is satirically expressing the idea that his "Proposal" is a modest attempt aimed at eliminating the problem or "burden" of too many children in Ireland, something that he feels greatly affects the overall state of the Commonwealth, being Great Britain.

Swift begins his "Proposal" by pointing out that his solution to the problem involves not just the charity of the children but also everyone that lives within Ireland and then explains some of his other schemes which he inevitably drops, due to not being fully able to end the over-population of children born to mostly poor folks and beggars. Swift also mentions that his scheme will help to alleviate abortions and the practice of mothers murdering their own children in order to thin out the herd.