“Some Species of Contrasts”: British Graphic Satire, the French Revolution, and the Humor of Horror

Abstract

AbstractPartly in response to the French Revolution, British political satirists in the 1790s re-imagined some visual techniques found in earlier European graphic art, including contrast, incongruity, and distortion, but with the addition of irony and violence. These satires demonstrate the deep structural similarity of humor with emotions often considered its opposites, such as horror, fear, and disgust, and visualize a phenomenon that was also theorized by philosophers of incongruity such as Joseph Priestley and Francis Hutcheson. The humor of art-horror grew in both theory and practice during the latter half of the eighteenth century and indicates the importance of incongruity in assessing modern life. These satires exemplify an obsession with death and offer an important precedent for modern political satires that engage violence and victimization for humorous effect. Extreme incongruity invites a range of different viewer responses and gives modern satire an uneasy edge.