The Theatre as a Vehicle to Social Satire

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THE THEATRE AS A VEHICLE TO SOCIAL SATIRE It could be said that satire is a means of using comedy and high humor to expose social problems and ills. The genre is often lauded as an intelligent form of criticism. Artists and writers use comedic devices to get their message through to audiences without resorting to bald statements. It is a genre of literature, and sometimes graphic and performing arts, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be funny, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit as a weapon. From ancient times satirists have shared a common aim: to expose foolishness in all its guises—vanity, hypocrisy, pedantry, idolatry, bigotry, sentimentality—and to affect reform through such exposure, but as society grew, men came up with different ideologies and ways to perceive life. Most satire is directed at politicians, religious leaders, and others in the public sphere some of who managed to position themselves in a powerful condition, others were left behind in the race to power and commodities; this was the beginning of the separation of social and political classes. It often features characters that represent exaggerated versions of the person or persons being targeted. Satire is based on truth, but depends on irony, wit, and sarcasm to expose weakness and other flaws. The tone is usually light, and the overall message is designed to be entertaining. Unlike other forms of comedy, however, satire carries a serious message thinly veiled beneath its surface. Those who were at the top of society (position defined by themselves) started giving value to the components of civilization, such as work, education, politics… human beings. Then, the condition of a person depended on
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