Gulliver Travels as a satire

Satire. Introduction. ‘Tomorrow is a satire on today, and shows its weakness.’ Edward Young. Satire is one of the genres of Greek origin (satyr) used in literature where there is a use of different elements like irony, sarcasm , ridicule, parody, burlesque, juxtaposition, exaggeration and so on to simply laugh upon the flaws in the society or to show the foolishness and decay in human personality, organizations and at different places. Although satirical works tend to be very funny, their main object is to criticise the down follies in the surroundings using WIT as a weapon to draw the attention of the society.

Chaucer, Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and many other creative writers who were not primarily Satirists, did make use of this element in their works. For instance, Chaucer disliked the lack of morality in the church. He fired upon the authority simply by laughing at it in the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales.

Weapons used by a satirist. ‘Pen is mightier than ATOM BOMB.’

The simple but the mightier weapon used by the satirist is Invective – a violent attack in words. When one slaps or kicks the person, the wound caused by it, may disappear soon. But, when he is attacked with words and when the attack is published in the books, it remains for ever in the shelves of the library and in the minds of the audience. The other weapon used by the satirist is Irony – language of opposite meanings. But, the most important weapon is to amuse and entertain the reader. As mentioned above, satire is to laugh upon the different flaws prevailing in the society, so this prime factor should be fulfilled to the fullest by the satirist.

Types of Satire.
It is complex to classify the genre