‘I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: “Oh Lord, make our enemies very
ridiculous.” And God granted it…’ (Voltaire, ‘Letter to Etienne Damilaville’, 1767). How can two
Enlightenment and/or Romantic texts by different visual artists or writers studied on the module be
understood as ‘satire’?
The enlightenment period brought with it ideals of order and knowledge, and introduced public
debates on whether the current government was truly the best option. Satiric literature written
during this period aimed to point out the shortcomings of the government and expose Britain’s
flaws, opening the eyes of the public to the rampant hypocrisy; “Satire is not only commonest form
of political literature, but, insofar as it tries to influence public behaviour, it is the most political part
of all literature.”1 Enlightenment writers Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift used different mediums
of satire in their works Gulliver’s Travels and The Rape of the Lock in order to criticise the moral
corruption of this such society.
Jonathan Swift wrote Gulliver’s Travels as both a political and social satire to protest against the
government and upper classes of the eighteenth century. It is an allegorical mode of satire that
modulates between specifics and generalities, satirizing both the whole of English court politics and
events surrounding his personal life. The four-part story approached Swift towards the award of his
whole writing career, mixing comedy with tragedy to portray the psychological collapse of Gulliver, a
man who gives up on humanity after being exposed to its worst faults. Due to it’s somewhat childish
comedy, some claim that Gulliver’s Travels is an example of the light-hearted Horatian style of satire,
however, its harsh criticism of the English government and its tragic ending means it fits well with
the definition of Juvenalian satire; “Juvenalian satire, in literature, any bitter and ironic criticism of
contemporary persons and institutions that is filled with personal invective, angry moral indignation,
and pessimism.”2 Swifts harsh criticism of the follies of humanity and the failure that was the English
1
Matthew Hodtatt, Satire: Origins and Principles, (Oxford: Routledge, 2017), p.6.
2
Elliot. R, C, ‘Satire’, Britannica, < https://www.britannica.com/art/satire> (accessed 20 May 2022).
, government at the time, with constant battles between the Whig and Tory political parties, means
Gulliver’s Travels is a perfect example of Juvenalian satire.
Each part of Gulliver’s Travels adds a different critique of society. In part one, we are introduced to
the Lilliputians, who are tiny people: “I perceived it to be a human creature not six inches high.” 3 The
contrast between them and Gulliver is imagery used to depict satirical effects, as the image of the
Lilliputians attempting to trap Gulliver who stands twelve times taller than them is a humorous one.
It is an example of dramatic irony, as it is obvious to the readers that Gulliver could crush the
Lilliputians at any moment, but they themselves believe they possess more power and never
recognise their own insignificance. This is a satiric portrayal of the English government and the
people they govern: they give the orders and make the rules never understanding that the people
could crush them if they wished. This satiric parody continues on through the part, exhibiting the
uselessness of political parties through the depiction of the war between the people of Lilliput and
the people of Blefuscu, which began because of their differences in cracking an egg: “the emperor’s
father published an edict, commanding all his subjects, upon great penalties, to break the smaller
end of their eggs. The people so highly resented this law, that our histories tell us, there have been
six rebellions raised on that account…It is computed that eleven thousand persons have at several
times suffered death, rather than submit to break their eggs at the smaller end.” 4 This is an example
of verbal irony as the tone Swift uses is serious despite the content being obviously laughable and is
used to make comparisons to the trivialities that split opinions between the Whig’s and the Tories. In
the ’politics and history’ chapter of the Cambridge companion to Jonathan Swift, Oakland says that
Swift’s intention was “defending the nation against self-interested coffee-house factions, he proved
a thoroughly partisan enemy of party and faction.” 5 Swift himself had written political pamphlet’s for
3
Swift. J, Gulliver’s Travels, (London: Penguin Classics, 2003), p.19.
4
Swift. J, Gulliver’s Travels, (London: Penguin Classics, 2003), p.43.
5
Oakleaf. D, ‘Politics and History’, Cambridge Companion to Jonathan Swift, (Cambridge: University Press,
2006), p.1.
