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Motifs
Definition of Satire
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians, are often the subject of satire, but satirists can take... read full definition
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians, are often the subject of... read full definition
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians... read full definition
Key Examples in The Rivals
Act 1, Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis:
The Rivals is a satire of Sheridan’s contemporary society. The elaborate lengths to which each of the couples must go in order to be together satirizes the difficulties of courtship rituals at the time, compounded as they were by additional barriers of generation, class, and gender expectations. Sheridan introduces one of the play’s main satirical subjects at the start of Act 1, Scene 1, as Fag and the Coachman gossip about the love lives of their superiors:
COACHMAN: but pray, why does your master pass only for Ensign? – now if he had shammed General indeed –
FAG: Ah! Thomas, there lies the mystery o’the matter. Harkee, Thomas, my master is in love with a lady of a very singular taste: a lady who likes him better as a half-pay Ensign than if she knew he was son and heir to Sir Anthony Absolute, a baronet of three thousand a year!
COACHMAN: That is an odd taste indeed! – but has she got the stuff, Mr Fag; is she rich, hey?
FAG: Rich! – why, I believe she owns half the stocks!
Related Themes:
Act 3, Scene 3
Explanation and Analysis:
The Rivals is a satire of Sheridan’s contemporary society. The elaborate lengths to which each of the couples must go in order to be together satirizes the difficulties of courtship rituals at the time, compounded as they were by additional barriers of generation, class, and gender expectations. Sheridan introduces one of the play’s main satirical subjects at the start of Act 1, Scene 1, as Fag and the Coachman gossip about the love lives of their superiors:
Unlock with LitCharts A+COACHMAN: but pray, why does your master pass only for Ensign? – now if he had shammed General indeed –
FAG: Ah! Thomas, there lies the mystery o’the matter. Harkee, Thomas, my master is in love with a lady of a very singular taste: a lady who likes him better as a half-pay Ensign than if she knew he was son and heir to Sir Anthony Absolute, a baronet of three thousand a year!
COACHMAN: That is an odd taste indeed! – but has she got the stuff, Mr Fag; is she rich, hey?
FAG: Rich! – why, I believe she owns half the stocks!
Related Themes:
