Political and social protest writing grew out of the public’s expanding political awareness and literary engagement in the eighteenth century. Just like public protests in the street, literature in this genre critiques or mocks political and social establishments with the goal of challenging and changing them.

Consider English satirical writing like Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal.” This text is an example of political protest writing because it mocks and critiques the political establishment’s approach to poverty. Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House is also an example of social protest writing, because of the way it challenges social norms for women.

Social and political protest writing typically references or focuses on inequality. For example, in A Doll’s House,the main character, Nora, struggles to have independence because of the patriarchal social structure she lives in. Works in this genre also typically involve the pursuit of power or opposition against those in power. Consider how Nora in A Doll’s House bends the sexist rules of her society and forges her father’s signature. She also leaves her husband at the end of the play, which is an explicit challenge of her society’s restrictive power structure.

Other common elements in this genre include dystopian settings and representations of government control and corruption. Ultimately, this genre allows writers to use their work to speak out against what they feel is wrong in society.