The literary genre of satire has been in circulation since the dawn of modern writing as a tool for indirect persuasion. It is a writing style that thrives on exploiting different forms or irony and sarcasm to exhibit human vices with hopes of inspiring social reform through banter and ridicule. Due to satire’s longstanding place in the literary world, it has adapted to fulfill the goals of writers throughout history. One example of how this change can be examined is through comparing the work of Jonathan Swift, who writes in a traditional satirical style, to that of Wendy Molyneux, who is a pioneer for new wave satire. By analyzing the works of these two writers, an accurate depiction in the genre of satire’s change over time can be gauged. 

In The Power of Ridicule: An Analysis of Satire, author Megan LeBoeuf explains how the traditional satire is used as a tool for evoking social and political change during times of distress or discomfort. She explains that satirical literature was used long before people even deemed it a genre of writing. The original genre associated with satire was used to target a more confined audience due to challenges of spreading the message in a time of literature being monitored by governments and publishers/distributors. However, the modern-day satire has evolved with the new technology now readily accessible to most of the general public. Satire has flourished in new formats of social media, and it is now often used to incite changes in societal stigmas (LeBoeuf 1). 

One example of traditional satire is A Modest Proposal, by Jonathan Swift. In Swift’s writing, he applies satire to voice his outrage toward the Irish governments neglect for the impoverished population of the country. Knowing that by directing stating his dismay with the government would make him a target of the country’s leadership, he uses a traditional Horatian style of Satire; one that criticizes immorality rather than attacking it. Swift expertly demonstrates his knowledge of the genre by disguising his personal opinions behind absurd suggestions like the idea of eating impoverished children to combat famine, and by doing this he can reach a wider array of readers instilling a lasting image of revolution/change in their minds. Behind this humor, Swift can manipulate his audience into subliminally realizing the larger problem at hand, and his audience can acknowledge the fact that the government is to blame. Swift demonstrates this in his writing by saying, “I desire those politicians who dislike my overture, and may be so bold to attempt an answer… (to first ask the parents if) they think it a great happiness to have been sold for food at a year old, in the manner I prescribe” (Swift 520). In this quote, Swift is placing the government on podium, and forcing them to play a hand. The population of Ireland will pose the question “If the government isn’t adopting Swift’s outlandish idea, then what are they doing to solve this problem?” And if enough Irish civilians rally around his cause, then the country’s leadership must abandon this indifference towards the poor to save the country from implosion. Therefore, the satirical format used by Swift creates the idea that the common people of Ireland must rise as protagonists to combat the injustice shown by the country’s elite. Swifts piece is a strong example of how the traditional layout for a satirical essay.

In the satirical essay, I’m Sorry That I Didn’t Write a Comedy Piece, by Wendy Molyneux, the often-muted societal belief that women are not as funny as men is challenged. Molyneux embraces overly dramatic stereotypes to fabricate her writing process in her essay to prove that women can in fact demonstrate a high level of complex comedy. She crafts an essay that represents one giant double entendre that exposes gender stereotypes in the sphere of women’s comedy by utilizing irony to flip the situation in her favor. Molyneux decides in this piece to branch off from the traditional style of satire that we saw in Swift’s writing and steers in the direction of using hyperboles to sarcastically bash the derogatory intent of people holding the belief that women do not possess the same capacity for humor as men. By using this method, she can flip the script and debunk the ignorant claims of Christopher Hitchens, the Vanity Fair polemicist, who wrote the essay entitled “Why Women Aren’t Funny” and the follow-up “Why Women Still Don’t Get It”. Through her piece, Molyneux, sculpts the genre of Satire to fulfill her goals of challenging women’s comedic stereotypes head on with the use of powerful hyperboles to overcome the ridicule that female comedians constantly face. If Molyneux can break the barrier of what makes a “traditional” satire piece, then who is to say she cannot break the stereotype that women lack comedic fiber. And since today’s satirical works rely upon technology and social media to reach a wider variety of viewers, Molyneux can voice her opinion to a larger target audience and have a greater effect on changing public opinion.

Both A Modest Proposal and I’m Sorry I Didn’t Write a Comedy Piece share key traits that help readers understand how they are categorized into the genre of satire. Both pieces work towards indirectly rallying the public behind the authors cause using sarcasm and wit. The authors of these works implement critical attitudes in hopes of altering current institutions/beliefs that don’t support the authors well-beings. Between the two pieces, there is also evidence of shifting conventions for the genre as a whole. Swift uses satire to draw awareness from the population in an effort to voice political discontent towards the Irish government’s neglect for the impoverished. His traditional style mounts harsh attacks to address the evils of society in a way that shows contempt for the people, and the intensity of his irony reflects how serious he deems the situation. Swifts words aim to enact deep feelings of righteous indignation in the hearts of his readers. On the other hand, Molyneux uses a combination of excessive hyperbole and sarcasm in her piece to achieve her goal. Her focused is aimed towards challenging the mindset of the population holding gender stereotypes towards female comedians. She revolutionizes the contemporary satire by adopting these traditional female comedian stereotypes and then adjusts her tone in a sarcastic manor to add a layer of complexity and wit. Although these two authors shared the same generalized pattern in their works the satirical genre is always changing to fit in with the modern time period, and this provides readers with an opportunity to see what major components change over time.
