In the poem, “How Beastly the Bourgeois is” written by D.H. Lawrence. The author uses a speaker who describes his disgust of the Bourgeois (the character) in the poem. Lawrence has the speaker use figurative language and rhetorical devices to express the disgust the speaker has of Bourgeois. Lawrence uses repetition, scientific diction, rhetorical questions, simile, defamiliarization, anaphora and a conceit to show the disgust towards the character in the poem. The ways the author uses literary works describes the Bourgeois using satire so it decreases the characters pride and presumption. Satire is when you use sarcasm, humor, or exaggeration to criticizes people's lives, in the way they work, how they look, and how they speak or live to make …show more content…
Similes are a type figurative language, which compares to things using “like” or “as”. The speaker states, “watch him go soggy, like a wet meringue.”(Line 13). The author uses this simile to show the speakers distaste and disgust for the Bourgeois because whenever he is faced with difficulty he gives up and turns away from the problem. This is unattractive and unappealing in anyone but especially of any higher class citizen. Another literary device D.H. Lawrence uses in the poem is defamiliarization. The speaker goes on to say “Tramping his thirty miles a day after partridges, or a little rubber ball?”(Line 3). This is defamiliarization used by the author because he could have wrote something easy as saying a golf ball or after a game of golf. Instead he used defamiliarization to show that these are two hobbies for upper class citizens and not everyone can play them. The speaker shows disgust because he describes the Bourgeois as having all the time on his hands and not working instead he is doing things that aren’t as important. It is distasteful that people are working for their money and he gets all of it handed to him. As the poem goes on Lawrence begins to use Anaphora to describe the speaker's dislike for the Bourgeois. The speaker goes on to say, “Let him meet a new emotion, let him be faced with another man’s need, let him come home to a bit of …show more content…
A conceit is an extended metaphor. The conceit begins when the speaker uses the metaphor, “Nicely groomed, like a mushroom standing there so sleek and erect and eyeable”(Line 21). The speaker begins by saying that the character is handsome and great looking but by comparing him to a mushroom makes the Bourgeois gross because he is talking about a poisonous mushroom that people may think looks good on the outside but on the inside it is rotten. Then Lawrence continues to add to the metaphor by having the speaker state, “and like a fungus, living on the remains of bygone life sucking his life out of the dead leaves” (Lines 23/24). Lawrence extends the metaphor and compares the Bourgeois to fungus. The speaker believes he is disgusting because fungi hold bacteria and also suck life out of dead leaves. Sucking life out of dead leaves compares to the Bourgeois being lazy and not working to earn his own money, instead he is taking the money from either his dead parents or relatives. The author then extends the metaphor even longer by having the speaker announce, “he’s stale, he’s been there too long” (Line 25). Lawrence compares him to something that is hard or gross to eat which shows the reader that the man is disgusting because any human wants to eat something stale or distasteful. The bourgeois is also compared to a fungi which is disgusting because it is parasitic. The quote, “just
Speaker: The author presents himself in a witty manner and by doing so it enables him to mock the effects modern life has on its people.
The author uses satire to support the theme of appearance versus reality. The definition of satire is an attempt to ridicule, mock, or criticize something or someone with humorous content. Satire is a rhetorical device that is used throughout the novel. The author uses humor in the wake of misfortune. This is evident in the chapter where Lazarillo serves his first master, a blind man. He treated Lazarillo horribly and also starved him. Lazarillo learns many deceitful things from his master which will serve him well throughout his life. Lazarillo’s goal was to get away from the blind man. An example of satire is the quote, “What! You smelled the sausage and you couldn’t smell the post? Ole’? Ole’? I jeered” (Albert 17). Lazarillo was making fun of the blind man for being able to smell the difference in the sausage and rotten turnips, but he did not smell the post that Lazarillo purposefully guided him into. Lazarillo was set on getting away from his first master and this is the clever way that Lazarillo gets away. He leaves without knowing the condition of his first master. In the end, Lazarillo did manage to outwit the blind man. The author’s portrayal of the clergy can be considered satire as
A satire is defined as the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc. In the novel The Princess Bride, the author, William Goldman, uses satirical remarks for humor. Goldman’s style is very sarcastic and helps the storyline from becoming boring. A few of the most prominent satires in this novel are brand names, the importance of beauty, and children making their own decisions. Goldman’s remarks on these topics remain relevant in today’s society.
Satire is used to criticize and point out society’s flaws. The criticism is usually masked in humour. The irony is commonly used in satires to expose flaws, an effective example is John Smith’s A Modest Proposal, he effectively uses irony, to communicate his argument about the poverty in Ireland at the time. Similarly, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale criticizes the society that women have to live in. Atwood uses allusions to the Old Testament and historical events to satirize the oppression of women in political, religious and social aspects.
The author uses satire to support the theme of appearance versus reality. The definition of satire is an attempt to ridicule, mock, or criticize something or someone with humorous content. Satire is a rhetorical device that is used throughout the novel. The author uses humor in the wake of misfortune. This is evident in the chapter where Lazarillo serves his first master, a blind man. He treated Lazarillo horribly and also starved him. Lazarillo learns many deceitful things from his master which will serve him well throughout his life. Lazarillo’s goal was to get away from the blind man. An example of satire is the quote, “What! You smelled the sausage and you couldn’t smell the post? Ole’? Ole’? I jeered” (Albert, Michael 17). Lazarillo was making fun of the blind man for being able to smell the difference in the sausage and rotten turnips, but he did not smell the post that Lazarillo purposefully guided him into. Lazarillo was set on getting away from his first master and this is the clever way that Lazarillo gets away. He leaves without knowing the condition of his first master. In the end, Lazarillo did manage to outwit the blind man. The author’s portrayal of the clergy can be considered satire as well. The clergy is portrayed very negatively in the novel. The clergy is not noble, honest or Christ-like which is what people normally equate with a man that holds such a position. According to T. Anthony Perry, there is a high
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines satire as: “literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn.” Besides this definition satire can also be seen as the particular literary way of making possible the improvement of humanity and its institutions. In the three works: Moliere’s “Tartuffe,” Voltaire’s “Candide,” and Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” the authors indirectly criticize and ridicule human behavior and characteristics but with the goal for improving these faults rather than just demolishing them.
A satire, by definition, is a way of using humor that shows the weakness or bad qualities of person, government, or society (Merriam-Webster). Satires are used in everyday life to make fun of someone or a society. We see it used in newspapers, magazines, and on television shows. This element is used in literature, as well. Many authors have used this element in their books, such as Mark Twain in his classic novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Satire describes the literary technique that combines dark humor and irony to criticize and expose humanity's stupidity. The purpose is to entertain readers with perverted humor while illustrating the horrors of war that Vonnegut consistently describes, “anyone who seeks glory and heroism in war is deluded” (Vonnegut 26).
Two novels use satire to criticize human weakness. In ‘Gulliver’s Travel’, Swift makes up a horse society Houyhnhnm and a brutal animal Yahoo. Gulliver has to admit that human beings are yahoos after a series comparison between human and yahoo. Vices of human beings are exposed by the Swift’s satiric
Similes are a small part of the poem, but give larger meaning behind each verse in which it was used. In “Facing It”, there are few verses that use simile, but those verses have important meaning. The Vietnam Memorial has 58, 022 names on the black surface, and the speaker says, “I go down the 58, 022 names,/ half-expecting to find/ my own in letters like smoke.” (14-16) Line 16 uses simile to describe the letters as being smoke. The white on black of the memorial gives a fog or smoke-like appearance when quickly scanning over names. All those names were of someone who died, and they become a blur. “My clouded reflection eyes me/ like a bird of prey…” (6-7) is used to describe how the speaker’s reflection is staring back at him. The names are on the wall, and as he stands there, he most likely feels very overwhelmed. His own reflection stares him down. His reflection and expectation of finding his own name among those lost
During the Age of Enlightenment, people began believing in and relying upon rational thought instead of religious dogma to explain the world. This newfound emphasis on rationality promoted a breadth of freedom in speech that was previously unknown, a fact which was utilized by philosophers such as John Locke, Rousseau, and Sir Isaac Newton. In addition, the Age of Enlightenment produced famous writers who didn’t agree with the irrational politics and old traditions of their respective countries, and instead relied upon wit and satire to expose the corruption and poor human condition existing around them. These Enlightenment writers use irony in their satires to get their interpretations regarding the human condition across.
Similes were used in this poem is different ways. Hayden was trying to get the readers to understand what he was trying to say by making some simple comparisons. Similes is a figurative language that is defined as drawing comparisons. An example of a simile in the poem would be “Needful to man as air, useable as earth” (Lines 2-3) Hayden is comparing freedom to air and earth. Hayden is trying to get the reader to understand how important freedom is to a human being. Freedom and liberty is something that we all should obtain.
A satire is a piece of work that is designed to ridicule or tease a group or organization, generally for the purpose of being humorous. “The Importance of Being Earnest,” a play by Oscar Wilde, is a satire, ridiculing class, gender, and marriage. This essay will describe some points from each of these sections, as well as give a brief synopsis of the play these examples come from.
Right near the beginning the author writes “Gusts of wind made bits of paper dance between the parked cars” which is an example of personification. This use of figurative language helps develop a gloomy mood and the fact neighborhood might be poor. Next the author writes “Father’s words like the distant thunder that now echoed through the streets of Harlem” which is an example of a simile. By comparing “Father’s” words to a distant thunder it makes the reader think his father is a big, strict, loud, and that the character and his father are probably in an argument. Finally, the author describes Lemon Brown’s voice as “high and brittle like twigs being broken” which is an example of a simile. By describing the voice as high and brittle it makes the reader think the voice may be from an older person who is potentially a woman. Walter Dean Myers makes great use of figurative language in the story Treasure of Lemon Brown.
In Slaughterhouse Five, Vonnegut uses satire in the topics of war, aliens, fate and the reasons for life itself. In Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, the author uses many literary devices to bring across his point including black humor, irony, wit and sarcasm. He mainly uses satire throughout the book. Satire is a literary device found in works of literature that uses irony and humor to mock social convention, another work of art, or anything its author thinks ridiculous to make a point.