Ireland. Ire. Irony. This euphonious trio of words explains the humor of Jonathan Swift; though he reportedly bore the most dour countenance in history, his wit could make readers laugh through his bile. Swift's "Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burde

18th century literature, Agitated, Augustan literature, Dystopic, Excessive, Ironic, Playful, Sardonic, Witty

'Moli're was not just a playwright,' wrote scholar Ethan Mordden. 'Moli're was a thespian, wholly of the theater, and his compositions breach the gulf between literature and performance, between language as its own art and language as a tool of art.' Like Shakespeare, who was an actor first, Moli're

Clever, Dystopic, Excessive, Funny, In-your-face, Ironic, Renaissance theater

16th century (renaissance) poetry, 17th century literature, Charming, Dramatic, Epic, Excessive, Grand, Pop

Salvador Dali was half-artist, half-imp, and all lunatic. Heavily influenced by Sigmund Freud's theories of dream interpretations and the subconscious, Dali sought to depict not visible objects but their associated images and subconscious meanings. For Dali, the life of the mind was life itself, and

Biomorphic, Death, Distorted, Dreamy, Excessive, Grotesque, Hallucinatory, Surrealist art, Surrealist literature, Surrealist poetry