Portrait of John Dryden by James Maubert
John Dryden's Definitions of Wit and Satire (Alicia Shupe)
According to Dryden, “[Wit] is a propriety of thoughts and
words;” (2257). More specifically, wit (clever perceptions and expressions) was
considered the standard of proper behavior with regard to thoughts and words.
To express one’s opinions with wit should be the highest goal. Satire, then, is
an application of that principle by using one’s clever perceptions to expose
and criticize problematic behavior which should be corrected. At the time of
Dryden’s writing, the major modes of satire were Juvenalian and Horatian
satire, named for the Roman satirists Juvenal and Horace.
The satirist, Juvenal lived 55-127 A.D. and was famous for
writing cutting satire which criticized what he saw as stupidity and corruption
in Roman society. Juvenal wrote sixteen satiric poems which have since been
called The Satires. Juvenalian satire
is known by its formal voice and aims to harshly condemn bad behaviors.
Conversely, Horatian satire aims to “gentl[y] ridicule the absurdities and
follies of human beings…” (nku.edu) for the sake of laughing at the situation
rather than condemning it.
Despite, Dryden’s preference for Juvenalian
satire, he notes that his own creation of the character Zimri in Absalom and Achitophel is a success because
it is modeled after the light-hearted Horatian satire and as such, the Duke of
Buckingham of whom Zimri makes fun could not possibly be offended by the work (Footnote
#1 – p.2257). For Dryden, any man could call another a fool, but do so without ever
saying the words “you’re a fool” required the artistic strokes of a clever wit.
If done properly, even the target of the satire would have to appreciate the
genius of the composition, and a true fool would not know enough to be offended
(2257).
On Wit and Satire:
Sources
2.
http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/juvenal.html
3.
http://www.nku.edu/~rkdrury/422/satire_terms.html
4.
Norton Anthology footnotes p. 2257 and Dryden’s
writings on wit and satire (2257)
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