Exploring the Satire in Literature: Taking the Luncheon as a Case Study
Abstract
William Somerset Maugham is a renowned English writer, known for his plays, novels, and short stories. One of his famous short stories, The Luncheon, tells the tale of a forty-year-old lady who admires the author's works and wins his favor by expressing her desire to meet him for lunch at a high-class eatery. Maugham ironically reveals the gluttony of the middle-class people and their hypocrisy. Based on textual analysis, the paper intends to explore the significance of the employment of satire and its application. In this paper, the author mainly focuses on two ways of satire, including irony and parody to discuss the function of satire in literature, arguing that satire cannot merely present vivid characteristics of characters in literature but also reveal authors’ intents of its employment. Additionally, the review paper also analyzes the application of satire in the literature of the past as well as satire in modern literature. The paper can contribute to providing a comprehensive analysis of Maugham's use of satire in The Luncheon and its impact on the reader's understanding of the story themes and characters.
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