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Mad Magazine, The Simpson’s, Saturday Night Live. In our society, satire is among the most common of comedic forms. This was not always true, for before the 18th century, satire was not a fully developed.. Satire rose out of necessity. Writers and artists needed a way to criticize their governments and their churches. By the 18th century, satire was hugely popular. Satire as it was originally proposed was a form of literature using sarcasm, irony, and wit, to bring about a change in society, but in the eighteenth century Voltaire, Jonathan Swift and William Hogarth expanded satire to include politics, as well as art. The political environment of the time was one of stress. Any criticism of government would bring punishments. In order to voice opinions writers turned to Satire. Voltaire's Candide and Swift's Modest Proposal are two examples of this new genre. Voltaire was able to attack scientist