Make ’em laugh: Images of law in eighteenth century popular culture

Abstract

In the eighteenth century, satire was seen as a liberty and could be expressed as visual popular culture. When aimed at power, satire deflected the taint of treason and sedition through the use of public voice in the name of liberty. Law and its actors stood as juxtaposition to the newly found ideals of liberty. Visual satire was instrumental in shaping the move from exemplary punishment to defining new paradigms of justice through the use of visual metaphor.