ABSTRACT
This paper aims to explore the ways in which Evelyn Waugh, the leading satirist of the twentieth century, in his novel Decline and Fall (1928) offers a highly stimulating and cynical representation of the follies that have afflicted the 1920s English society on micro and macrocosmic levels. Waugh strongly criticizes the prevailing corruption in the fundamental institutions in his society. His satirical criticism of these institutions, as this essay argues, becomes more mordant through his blending of two literary genres – comedy and tragedy – a blending through which Waugh voices his dissatisfaction with his society marked with degeneration and dehumanization in a more powerful and effective way. Thus, this study will explore the fusion of tragic and comic, farcical elements that strengthen the novel’s satirical take on social institutions.
Keywords: Blend of genres, Comedy, Tragedy, Satire, Social criticism.