I have always enjoyed the subtleties of well-written satire. Three favorites are by Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, and Joseph Heller.
In one of my British literature courses as an undergrad at the fabulous Albright College, (Just ask, I could talk all day about what a good fit a small, liberal arts college was for me, and may be for others.) we read Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal." My mind was blown. What an example of satire in all its glory. Unfortunately, I did not have the same reaction to Gulliver's Travels (1725) no matter how many times it was assigned in class after class (AP Literature, British lit, Great Novels, etc.). It feels overwrought and too long while "A Modest Proposal" is a master class in brevity and precision. What surprised me on my first reading was its publication date of 1729. This is 291 years ago, but there are parts relating to abuses by the government that could have been written yesterday.
For instance when Swift writes "I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children," he is acknowledging the way the landlord system in 18th century Ireland "devoured" the livelihood of poor parents leading him to wonder why they might as well devour the children too. To me, this is akin to the way employers wring out employees who are just barely able to survive on the current minimum wage. A good, modern book about this topic is Nickel and Dimed. It is non-fiction, not satire, and both interesting and informative.
I loved to read "A Modest Proposal" aloud to my students. Those who were paying attention would start to look around with questioning looks on their faces at, "It is true, a child just dropt from its dam, may be supported by her milk, for a solar year, with little other nourishment: at most not above the value of two shillings, which the mother may certainly get, or the value in scraps, by her lawful occupation of begging; and it is exactly at one year old that I propose to provide for them in such a manner, as, instead of being a charge upon their parents, or the parish, or wanting food and raiment for the rest of their lives, they shall, on the contrary, contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing of many thousands." Every year in every class, someone would look up, shoot a hand in the air - or maybe just shout out - "Did he just say people were going to 'eat' babies?" YES! That is exactly what he is saying - satirically. And that would launch us into a full discussion of the power of satire.
For 8 of my 15 years teaching English I taught 11th grade British literature, which can be a hard sell to 17 year olds, who I find delightful in many ways, but not when I am trying to engage them with literature that is far removed from their own experiences. I found success with both "A Modest Proposal" and The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde. This is a play I find so compelling that when I saw a performance in Washington, DC in 2014 I was so overwhelmed by its perfection that during intermission, I bought a ticket to see it again.
The play aims its pithy satire at a number of facets of life in Victorian England (If this sounds at all familiar it is because a number of my favorite mystery series also take place in that time and place.) including romantic love, marriage, familial relationships, and materialism. The word play is fast paced and highly entertaining if you can keep up. One of my favorite segments is when Algernon (who is going by the name Ernest) and Cecily meet for the first time:
Algernon. I hope, Cecily, I shall not offend you if I state quite frankly and openly that you seem to me to be in every way the visible personification of absolute perfection.
Cecily. I think your frankness does you great credit, Ernest. If you will allow me, I will copy your remarks into my diary. [Goes over to table and begins writing in diary.]
Algernon. Do you really keep a diary? I’d give anything to look at it. May I?
Cecily. Oh no. [Puts her hand over it.] You see, it is simply a very young girl’s record of her own thoughts and impressions, and consequently meant for publication. When it appears in volume form I hope you will order a copy. But pray, Ernest, don’t stop. I delight in taking down from dictation. I have reached ‘absolute perfection’. You can go on. I am quite ready for more.
Even now, I am chuckling and tempted to stop writing this post and instead re-read the play in its entirety.
A newer example (1961) is Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, which lampoons the bureaucracy of war and those who have made it their life's work. If The Importance of Being Earnest is farcical, light satire, Catch-22 is its dark cousin as the ridiculousness of the regulations and inept leadership have terrible consequences. I have not read this one in over 10 years, but it is on my shelf to re-read in 2020. There is also a TV series available on Hulu, but I have not seen any of it and cannot speak to how well it stays true to the book.
Truly contemporary satire can be found in The Onion, an online publication that has new "news" stories every day. One recent headline I enjoyed: "Ian McKellen Waiting In Line At Buckingham Palace Administrative Office To Get Knighthood Renewed Before It Expires" with an accompanying picture and "NCAA Reminds Boosters That Full Bribes Still Due Even If Football Season Canceled." They are fun to follow on social media as well as a break from the news sources I follow to keep up to date.
Do you have a favorite work of satire?
