Is Satire dead?

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Blog Post #2

Modern Satire is much different than satire in Dryden’s era. In fact, even the existence of modern satire is debated. The Daily Beast’s Ted Gioia discussed the problems with modern satire and how it overuses fake news stories to try to be satirical. He even says that satire is dead. Sometimes its hard to tell the difference and sometimes the word "Satire" for some satirical sites should be debated. These news sites are filled with excessive hyperbole, which Dryden in "The Author's Apology for Heroic Poetry and Heroic License" said a great satirist should use in moderation 

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The Internet seems a likely culprit if satire is truly dead. Consider that in Dryden’s era the general populace did not have the means to instantly reply to a subject through a worldwide system, they had to be able to write and get published. It is far easier to post something publicly today.  Some people use satire as an excuse for bad writing. Basically, they say that they were only trying to be satirical when criticized for bad writing.

Internet satire sites such as The Onion exist, though Gioia states that only a few articles could work as decent satire, while most of its modern offerings have lost their strength. He mentions that it appears modern society might be too easily offended for satire to flourish. It seems online society revolves too much on popularity and ad revenue to offer decent satire. After all, it might drive away clicks since it could offend someone. This goes against what Dryden did when he mocked Shadwell in “Mac Flecknoe” by calling his satires inoffensive. He also was pretty offensive when he derogatorily compared Shadwell to the Irish, a line that would not be acceptable in today's society.  

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There still exists dangers of writing satire today as there was in Dryden’s era, though in modern times it will likely not land a satirist in court. Recall from the Introduction that Daniel Defoe was one of many arrested for “seditious libel” (2188) and sent to the stocks for one of his satires. While libel suits still exist, it is not as easy to get arrested for libel as it was then. Now a satirist is more likely to be attacked online, which could come in the form of hateful comments, death threats, or other forms of internet

Image-based satire is far more prevalent today than in Dryden’s time, due to how much easier it is to make and distribute images. While Political cartoons have existed for a long time as satire, internet memes have also been discussed as a form of satire. Memes are often filled with the hyperbole and catachreses that Dryden talked about using sparingly in "The Author's Apology for Heroic Poetry and Heroic License".

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Noggle, James and Lipking, Lawrence "Introduction"
The Norton Anthology of English Literature 9th Edition: Volume C: The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century. 2170-2205 Norton & Company

Dryden, John "Mac Flecknoe." The Norton Anthology of English Literature 9th Edition: Volume C: The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century. 2237-2242. 1682

Dryden, John. "The Author's Apology for Heroic Poetry and Heroic License." The Norton Anthology of English Literature 9th Edition: Volume C: The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century. 1677

Gioia, Ted The Death of Satire. The Daily Beast, 2015. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-death-of-satire

An Era of Advancement: A Glimpse of The Enlightenment

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Blog Post #1

The Enlightenment era marked a massive change in the way people thought about the world around them. In fact, one could consider the Enlightenment era the first time people began to question long established policies and beliefs. It was a time of massive societal change. It sparked counter-awakenings, upheavals, and breakthroughs. Its ideas also sparked wars and conflicts like the French and American Revolutions, among others.

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The modern world might not even exist without the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke. In some ways, the modern era and the Enlightenment are similar. According to History, this era was the start of the popularity of newspapers and coffee shops. One could connect social media and the internet as modern day versions of these advancements. Though it could be said that discussions that happened in coffee shops in the 1600's might have been more enlightened than some discussions in social media. Connections could also be made on both eras’ focus on the individual.  And you could see connections to the Whigs and Tories and the current political discussions.

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One could also connect the lightened restrictions on what to publish to the current even less restricted independent publishing options and the internet itself, which offers nearly every kind of voice imaginable the chance to speak.

Now and then, this often led to them being criticized or even attacked for their thoughts or work, though now it is less severe. Public humiliation and shaming examples such as the pillory and today’s DOXXing, which is a form of internet public shaming and justice exist in both as well.
   

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The current generation’s obsession with live action entertainment in the form of movies, television, and to a somewhat lesser extent, plays could relate to this period as well.

Newspapers were not the only thing that were created at the time of the Enlightenment. It is interesting to find how the revolution of science led to, according to the Introduction, public electrocutions and citizens playing with explosions since there were not any official scientists and anyone could experiment with chemicals or whatever desired.

The Enlightenment's relationship to the Church is interesting, especially how the Church was connected to the monarchy. The Introduction states that religious dogmas of the past such as Kings having divine right to rule were challenged. 
 One can also find connections with churches in modern times, such as the birth of denominations like the Methodists and the notion that only by grace could a soul be saved from Hell.

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Noggle, James and Lipking, Lawrence "Introduction"
The Norton Anthology of English Literature 9th Edition: Volume C: The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century. 2170-2205 Norton & Company

History.com staff. "Enlightenment-Facts and Summary" History. 2009. http://www.history.com/topics/enlightenment