Satire in literature mocks something through wit, sarcasm, and irony, often with social or political criticism. Parody novels make fun of existing literature through name changes and plot holes. Satire can also be used for social criticism and to change opinions, but its moral role is controversial.
The role of satire in literature is to mock something that the writer does not like. Satire is characterized by the inclusion of stylistic elements such as wit, sarcasm and irony, as well as biting social or political criticism. This often takes the integral form of copying the sitter’s affectations, styles and ideas, but done in a way that makes fun of it. Sometimes this can be subtle, as with Jane Austen’s gothic novel satires, and sometimes it can be obvious and “in your face” like Henry N. Beard and Douglas C. Kenney’s “Boredom of the Rings.”
Satire is any form of artistic expression that makes fun of something or someone in the public eye. This can take many forms from the written word to jokes, television sketches, drawings and entire shows or productions. In terms of literature, satire can be as short as a poem or letter or as long as a novel. Satire has become a favorite form of comedy on television with shows like ‘The Colbert Report’ in America and ‘Bremner, Bird and Fortune’ in Britain.
The parody novel is a form of satire in literature that follows the form of another novel almost exactly, but makes fun of it every time. This form of humor, as seen from “Bored of the Rings,” is often low-brow humor with a series of name changes designed to be funny. For example, in “Boredom of the Rings”, Samwise Gamgee becomes Spamm Gangre and Legolas becomes Legolam. Fantasy parodies, with which the Discworld series created by Terry Pratchett began, tend to have a number of conventions including pointless maps, fake reviews and quotes, and fake “even in this series” listings.
The role of the parody novel within satire in literature is to make fun of an existing piece of literature. This can result in mocking characters’ names and actions, or obvious non-actions, as well as plot holes in the text. They also make fun of the conventions of the genre and quite often the fans as well. Since most of the fans like parodies as well, it is seen as a joke by most of the people.
The role of satire is not just to make fun of things. Satire can be used to make stinging social criticism and it can be used to change people’s opinions. George Orwell’s Animal Farm is an expansive metaphor or allegory of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, but it is also a satire that makes a mockery of what happens when the Communists take over. Satire as social criticism has also been used to address broad topics such as corporate greed, political corruption, racism and homophobia.
The need for a moral role in satire in literature is a matter of controversy. Social criticism as satire in literature needs a moral, that the thing being criticized is wrong and needs to be fixed. Satire as parody proper has only the role of pointing out that the thing being mocked is ridiculous. It has been argued that the role of satire should be to provide a remedy for the problem as well as mock it and that to merely mock the problem is to shirk responsibility for solving it.
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