Clair Fuller
Laurel Kitada
Alex Tranquada
Jodi Shou
Team 8/Team Dragon
December 7, 2011
Asher, Period 4
Enlightenment Synthesis
The Enlightenment of the mid-1600s to the mid-1700s centered strongly on rationale and reason, prompting focused criticism of the philosophies of previous literary and artistic periods. Religious and other 'sentimental' doctrines were rejected, replaced by emphasis on logic. Rising in response to this paradigm shift, a revival of critical writing swept Europe. A certain form of social and intellectual criticism became the genre of 'satire', exemplified in plays, novels, and essays. Notable among the Enlightenment satirists were Voltaire, Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, John Arbuthnot, and Robert Harley. Many of these writers were members of the Scriblerus Club, and their perception of the previous periods they satirized as "tedious, narrow- minded, and pedantic" accurately sums up the attitudes of the Enlightenment satirists as a general collective. Wit, irony and sarcasm became the weapons of the satirists; extended sarcasm, such as in Swift's "A Modest Proposal", argued effectively for one point by seeming to argue for its opposite. Extreme language and symbolism was also used to effect, for example, in Pope's "The Rape of the Lock". Though humor was often included, the use of hyperbole, analogy, and antithesis to juxtapose two views made satire stinging. In particular, the relationship-centric hierarchy of artists and patrons, present in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, stood in contrast to the sensible, empirical nature of the developing Enlightenment societal structure, and was sharply criticized by the satirists. By employing devices meant to disparage, Swift, Pope, and their fellow writers made laughable the mentalities of those earlier periods.
Team Dragon,
ReplyDeleteYou did an excellent job on your sythesis; it sounds nice, it thoroughly answers the question, and - best of all - it makes total sense (which is better than most groups). Especially persuasive is your inclusion of specific satirists and their work, like Johnathan Swift and his essay, "A Modest Proposal." However, we wish that you had included the full title of the essay: "A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Irelend from Being a Burden on Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick." This, we feel, would bolster your argument by providing the reader with a taste of what Enlightenment Era satirists were really like. Still, even with this glaring error, your response remains pretty damn good. Also, we approve of your use of the oxford comma. Keep up the good work!
Hugs and kisses,
Asher, Period 1, Team 2 (Adrian Little, James Kawakami, Max White,and Seth Moore)