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Terms and People to Know "irony." The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Ed. Chris Baldick. Oxford University Press, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 27 January 2010. Satire:
A mode of writing that exposes the failings of individuals,
institutions, or societies to ridicule and scorn. Satire is often an
incidental element in literary works that may not be wholly satirical,
especially in comedy
. Its tone may vary from tolerant amusement, as in the verse satires of
the Roman poet Horace , to bitter indignation, as in the verse of
Juvenal and the prose of Jonathan Swift (see juvenalian
). Various forms of literature may be satirical, from the plays of Ben
Jonson or of Molière and the poetry of Chaucer or Byron to the prose
writings of Rabelais and Voltaire . The models of Roman satire ,
especially the verse satires of Horace and Juvenal, inspired some
important imitations by Boileau , Pope , and Johnson in the greatest
period of satire -- the 17th and 18th centuries -- when writers could
appeal to a shared sense of normal conduct from which vice and folly
were seen to stray. In this classical tradition, an important form is
'formal' or 'direct' satire , in which the writer directly addresses
the reader (or recipient of a verse letter) with satiric comment. The
alternative form of 'indirect' satire usually found in plays and novels
allows us to draw our own conclusions from the actions of the
characters, as for example in the novels of Evelyn Waugh or Chinua
Achebe . See also lampoon . For a range of introductory accounts, consult Ruben Quintero (ed.), A Companion to Satire ( 2006 ). Short background essay on social aspects of "Rip Van Winkle" This is one of those snarky little tales that, on the surface, appears to be just an amusing bit of Americana, but when examined more closely, reveals the power of metaphor, symbol, and how narrative can be used as satire. "Henry B. Miller was in St. Louis when he participated in his first elections. The initial one, for city officers in the spring of 1838, was a memorable induction for the young man into the sport of American politics, even though 'it went off middling quiet, as far as regards fighting.' The second, in August of the same year for state and national positions, was a notable brawl which 'learnt me,' Miller wrote, 'that there was a many rowdies amongst the Whigs as amongst the Democrats.' Miller's first voting experiences included many common aspects of belligerent antebellum democracy and suggest how much intimidation, bruising, and violence the American system incorporated into its democratic virility. In the 'middling quiet' city election, Miller recounted many 'amusing sights':
(Grimestead America 181) And "Rip" exerts a strong pull on our current mythos as well: consider the cartoon handed in by a student.
Hudson River School:
Designation applied to the earliest distinctively American landscape
specialists. Their work combined meticulous, factual description with
romantic feeling for the beauty, grandeur, and nobility of American
scenery. Active from the 1820s, nearly all were native-born, although
most studied and traveled in Europe. There they absorbed traditional
skills and theories, but their attention to American subjects gave
their work an indigenous flavor and helped to crystallize an optimistic
national consciousness. The style peaked from the 1840s through early
1860s. By about 1880 it had gone out of fashion. Although centered in
New York and bound by friendships, the Hudson River School painters
never formally organized. Originally a derogatory tag, the name came
later, when the style was seen as naive, finicky, and provincial. Usage
of the term has been inconsistent. Some observers have employed it to
embrace all realistic nineteenth-century landscapes, but art historians
today generally limit its applicability to a smaller group of painters
whose work most consistently exemplifies the School 's salient
characteristics. Thomas Cole 's landscapes proved pivotal to the birth of the School . Such earlier landscapists as Alvan Fisher and Thomas Doughty are variously considered precursors or early adherents. Core members of the School include Asher B. Durand , John Kensett , Worthington Whittredge , and Jasper Cropsey . Although some writers include them, Albert Bierstadt , Frederick Church , and Martin Johnson Heade ,
among other major landscapists, are often now seen as related figures
whose interests diverged from those of the central group. Typical
Hudson River School landscapes picture undefiled scenery of the
northeastern United States, chiefly New England and New York State. The
Hudson River Valley, including the Catskill Mountains, served as the
earliest and most frequent locus of activity. Views may be intimate or
sweeping, but vegetation, rocks, clouds, and other features are acutely
observed, often painted with tiny brushes for maximum detail. Light is
carefully rendered, but also controlled to contribute to harmonious or
even transcendental effects. Typically, the mood of the paintings is
pastoral and poetic, although some convey the awesome impassivity of
untouched nature. Painters and contemporary observers frequently read
patriotic meanings into the views, which were seen as evidence of the
young country's inherent greatness and possible superiority to the Old
World. Moreover, interpreting the landscapes as evidence of God's
handiwork, many also read moral and spiritual messages there. Hudson
River School painting paralleled contemporaneous literary responses to
landscape, as in James Fenimore Cooper's novels, the poetry of William
Cullen Bryant, and the philosophical ruminations of Ralph Waldo Emerson
and Henry David Thoreau. The period's responsiveness to nature
benefited from familiarity with English romantic art and literature, as
well as by an urbanizing population's nostalgia for the country. http://www.artchive.com/ftp_site.htm Thomas Cole -- Founder of Hudson River School http://www.artchive.com/artchive/c/cole/cole_kaaterskill.jpg (1826) http://www.artchive.com/artchive/c/cole/thumb/cole_clove.jpg (1827) http://www.artchive.com/artchive/c/cole/cole_oxbow.jpg (1836) http://www.artchive.com/artchive/c/cole/thumb/cole_schroon.jpg (1838) http://pasleybrothers.com/jefferson/course_of_empire.htm (course of empire complete 1836) http://www.artchive.com/artchive/c/cole/cole_savage.jpg (1836) http://www.artchive.com/artchive/c/cole/cole_desolation.jpg (1836) Durand Asher Kensett "Irving wishes in a gentle way to remind his readers that American "exceptionalism" should not be taken too far, and that, for all their innovativeness in the history of human societies, the Americans should not forget that they are human beings and therefore need a sense of the communal past, as have all societies heretofore" (Conlin) "Even America has its demigods and superhuman founders who dwell in the mountains as a kind of brooding presence overlooking the community for all time. Rip's America is not really distinct from other, more traditional societies. It too has its divine origins not subject to strictly scientific study." (Conlin) "But a "general shout burst from the bystanders--|A tory! a tory! a spy! a refugee! hustle him! away with him!'" (36). Something like mob-rule has come to the village along with the new republicanism. Life is politicized, and no one can afford to be outside the mainstream." (Conlin) "Catherine Zuckert argues that there is "a characteristically American motif" in the great works of American literature anchored in the principles of the Declaration of Independence and which points back to the State of Nature philosophy of Hobbes and Locke. According to Zuckert, the "naturalistic" school in American fiction led by Cooper, Hawthorne, and Melville, involves the return to the "state of nature" in order to find a basis for the critique of American life. Zuckert argues that these "withdrawals" constitute "investigations" into "the purported basis of the American political creed" with its "Lockean" or "social contract theory" roots (246)." (Conlin) "Rip is a reminder that all communities, no matter how free and enlightened they become, need to be attentive to their past, and need, no matter what their prosperity and success, some sense of the mysterious and awe-inspiring. Rip's experience is akin to a Biblical Revelation, except that his encounter is with local gods. Rip's "polytheistic" experience suggests an association with the Greeks and their "political" gods of the polis. Rip's tale-telling serves a political function in that it tends to enchant the history of his community and to give it roots in a mythic past. Rip reminds his auditors that their community has a long and various history even behind the original Dutch settlers. " (conlin) "Like the mythic 'noble savage' of Rousseau, or the heroes of westerns, Van Winkle is an Edenic figure, a man unfettered by society. That, above all else, is the source of his enduring appeal." (Ozersky) "The conflict between nature and the "civilized" world of the marketplace is at the heart of Rip Van Winkle. And it is at the heart of "Rip Van Winkle" because it was at the heart of the development of America in Irving's time." (Ozersky) "The coastal colonies, on the other hand, were deeply committed to commerce from their founding. This tension was to inform the entire early history of America. Jefferson's yeoman farmers and Hamilton's manufacturers, Democratic Republicans and Federalists, country and city. Everywhere market culture encountered subsistence culture, it derided it as lazy, backward, idle." (Ozersky) VERY TRUE – SEE FRANKLIN "At any rate a primal, primeval myth has been postulated (by Joseph Campbell in his Hero with a Thousand Faces), and has been described--as a "separation from the world, a penetration to some source of power, and a life-enhancing return." (Young) © 2009 David Bordelon
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