English

The way an artist writes has a lot to do with why they are writing. Every author write for certain reasons. Some authors write to persuade, to explain, to inform, or just to be humorous. It doesn’t matter why a person writes there is always a purpose for the writing. No matter what style a person writes in, there are a few things that are always used while writing. One thing that is used is irony. Irony is the use of words to express the opposite of what one really mean. In knowing what irony means if you look at Dryden’s MacFlecknoe and Austen’s Sense and Sensibility there are similarities and differences.

Dryden’s MacFlecknoe is a poem that criticizes Richard Flecknoe and Thomas Shadwell. The irony in Dryden’s poem is that he tends to seek out and destroy Flecknoe and Shadwell. In actuality Dryden feels sorry for Flecknoe and Shadwell. All of the bashing that Dryden does make the reader think that he hates Flecknoe and Shadwell. Dryden doesn’t hate them as a person he hates the way they write. He feels that they are an embarrassment to all writers. Dryden’s satiric purpose in this poem is to humor his readers about what he believes is funny about his successors. The tone of the poem is very negative. I think Dryden did this to make his reader lean more to not liking Flecknoe and Shadwell for the same reasons he do. Dryden doesn’t want his readers to think that all poets are not good poets he just says that Shadwell and Flecknoe weren’t good poets. He makes it very clear that a poet being very popular doesn’t make them a good poet. Dryden’s readers presumed reaction would be to belief every word that he says and to instantly take a negative approach toward his successors.

Austen’s Sense and Sensibility is a novel, which takes place in Europe and is mainly about the middle class. Back in those days women were not recognized as men were. The irony in this novel is how the women think that money would change how

they live dramatically. The...