Satire in Shakespeare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Satire in Shakespe are - Essay ExampleThe true satirist is certain of the frailty of institutions of mans devising and attempts through laughter not so much to tear them down as to inspire a remodeling (Thrall, et al 436).There are many examples of satire in literature and media today. In literature, William Shakespeare has primary(prenominal)tained a special place in satirical prose. He has satirized almost every senselessness and superficiality that he came to know of through his observations and interactions with people, yet his plays contain so many separate features, that champion couldnt label Shakespeare as a satirist.There is satire, as there is everything else, in Shakespeare. The pseudo-statesman is satirized in Polonius, the courtier in Osric. two Touchstone and Feste have caustic tongues. Malvolio shows that Shakespeare had no more liking for the Puritans than his fellow-players. Yet for all this, and for all that index be added, it would be absurd to rank Shakespe are among the satirists and the same is true of the dramatists in general. Except when they fall into fight with one another, or with some class peculiarly obnoxious to them, they rarely make satire the staple fibre of their plays. (Walker 114)As you like it is one of Shakespeare best comedies with a very high satirical tone. This play exposes the absurdity of human world, far more than any of Shakespeares plays. In fact, it was first of its kind where the entire play s main purpose was to ridicule certain people and situations. Pastoral romance is the focal point of his satire. On inaugural July 1599, the government passed an order to suppress satirical work. This led to flaring struggles between the authorities and writers. Shakespeare closely find this contest and created a satirical comedy on its bases. However, the dismayed and chaotic social conditions of England provided the main incentive for satirical work. In As you like it, Jacques is the main character that fulfills the duty of a satirist. He belongs to the crowd of people who are discontent about life in general and are very plainspoken about their discontentment and dissatisfaction with life. He finds all happy people as foolish and so he finds all people in Arden and their happy temperaments as ridiculous. It includes some very hilarious pieces of prose, which are fundamentally attempts at satirizing romance of country folk. near of them are scenes such as those of heroine being kidnapped by robbers and saved in a heroic way by the hero and his brother. Some central characters of satire are Orlando who is a perfect lover, Rosalind and Celina who are perfect friends and Adam who is a perfect loyalist of conservative ideas. (Campbell, 44)Shakespeare in his play has tried to mock the romantic dreams of love-stricken couples, which take refuge in the countryside. However, when they reach there, they find that it is not so. In fact, it is far from the encounter, the people of city have of c ountry. This is what Rosalind and Orlando had on their mind when they ran away from the injustices and atrocities of city, which were keeping them apart. a great deal to their surprise, they found out that this Forest of Arden was a land of terror. It wasnt where people who could live peacefully with each other in lap of nature. The country presented its own set of problems and challenges, in some cases more challenging than the city. Some characters were pure mockery of country folk, such as Silvius, Phebe, William and Audrey who are far from picture perfect image of their kind. The foolish,