Voltaire's Use Of Satire In Candide

The Enlightenment was a period of time in European history when English and French philosophers created new outlooks on life. Leibniz was one of these philosophers and he introduced the idea of optimism. Optimism was described as believing that "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds" . In Candide, Voltaire writes a successful satire of optimism because Candide includes the two main components of satire; parody and irony. Parody is "[a] composition imitating another, usually serious, piece. It is designed to ridicule a work or its style or author" . Additionally, irony is "[a] broad term referring to the recognition of a reality different from appearance. Verbal irony is a figure of speech in which the actual intent is expressed in words that carry the opposite meaning."

A satire is an artistic work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit. A successful
Pangloss, is arriving at seem completely ludicrous which is the point of parody. This passage also uses irony when related to the outcome of the Baron's estate, which is to be raided and broken down because he, in fact, is not a good Baron. The fact that Voltaire uses parody and irony to write Candide makes it a successful satire.

To write a successful satire, an author has to incorporate ideas of parody. Parody is designed to ridicule a usually serious idea. In Candide, optimism is the idea Voltaire parodies over and over again. The main character, Candide, is put terrible predicaments and he would still be so optimistic it is absurd. An example of this is when Dr. Pangloss is innocently executed, and Candide believes that it was for the best even though he cannot explain why. This is successful form of parody because it ridicules the idea of optimism, which leads to the idea that Candide is a successful