An ambiguous duality lies at the heart of all good satire. The author invites us to have a laugh at folly or vice. The humor helps us consider these realities from a safe distance because the themes they indict, if considered seriously, are not truly funny. Greed is a serious failing, yet we chuckle atContinue reading “All the Pretty Horses: Gulliver Among the Houyhnhnms”
Tag Archives: Satire
The Uses of Ambiguity: The Good Soldier Schweik
Ever since the time of Juvenal, and probably before, satirists have been hard at work deflating the pretensions of their societies and speaking truth to power with a wink and an air of feigned sincerity. Some, like Swift and Voltaire, channel their “savage indignation” into creating a better world. Others, like Pope, gently mock theContinue reading “The Uses of Ambiguity: The Good Soldier Schweik“
Worlds Imagined 