The Satire and Criticism of Voltaire and Swift

1999-09-10 Complicated censorship during the Enlightenment forced many philosophes to use satire as a tool to express their criticism towards European society. Through great works of literature, the philosophes were able to effectively use ridicule and satire to criticize many aspects of European society. Swift’s A Modest Proposal applied sarcasm and irony to create an atmosphere of humour. This atmosphere allowed him to criticize English policies and absentee English landlords in an effort …

…of a young student to challenge authority and mock blind optimism. By taking a literary approach of criticism, Voltaire was able to present his philosophy in an enjoyable form, encouraging more people to read his work. While the satire and humor in the literature of Swift and Voltaire may have shadowed some of the facts, it encouraged more people to read their work, and helped to prevent them from getting in trouble with the authorities.