The document discusses the concept of satire, defining it as a mode of writing that ridicules the failings of individuals and societies. It outlines two primary forms of satire—formal and indirect—along with its historical context and key practitioners from the 17th and 18th centuries. Additionally, it touches on menippean satire and magical realism, highlighting their characteristics and significance in literature.

1. Lecture 10: Some Thoughts on Education
21 August 2012
Not quite conversation
It was somewhere in between
You said everything is taught
And I listened patiently
All this dog and pony
Still monkeys the whole time
We could not keep from flinging shit
In our modern suits and ties
—Modest Mouse, “Education” (2007)

2. A Few Words on Satire
SATIRE: “A mode of writing that exposes the
failings of individuals, institutions, or societies to
ridicule and scorn.” (The Oxford Dictionary of
Literary Terms)
From Latin satura, an abbreviated form of lanx
satura, “an abundant mixture, a hodgepodge” (i.e.,
of public and private issues requiring severe
criticism).

3. There are two primary forms of satire:
● “Formal” or “direct” satire: The narrator directly
addresses the reader with explicit comments about
the subject being satirized.
● “Indirect” satire: Most common form in plays and
novels; the author presents a situation and allows
the reader (or viewer of a play) to draw his/her own
conclusions.
● Satire can occur in novels, poetry, drama, and
other literary and quasiliterary forms.
● Satire is often a response by a social outsider
to the follies and antics of the powerful.

4. ● The word “satire” refers to both:
● (in general) the act of exposing a situation to
ridicule; and
● (specifically) a literary form that is primarily
concerned with performing this ridicule.
●
The 17th and 18th centuries are sometimes
referred to as the “Age of Satire” in English
literature.
● Major practitioners in this period include Alexander
Pope and Jonathan Swift.
●
Most 17th- and 18th-century satirists explicitly
model their satires on Latin models, especially
Horace and Juvenal.

5. ● Satire can range in tone from gentle chiding to
bitter excoriation.
● Historically, satire has generally tended toward
didacticism.
● In order to criticize the follies of individuals or
social groups, satire requires that its readers
share a particular moral viewpoint with the
author.
● This is especially true for indirect satire.
● Hence, the satirist, in and by writing satire,
elevates and promotes him- or herself as an
authoritative judge of morality.

6. ● Satirists often take the position of being
“humanistic in spirit,” loving their fellow human
beings and wanting to reform those who
commit evil and folly in order to benefit all.
● British poet W.H. Auden takes a very traditional
view of satire: “Satire is angry and optimistic; it
believes that, once people's attention is drawn
to some evil, they will mend their ways.”
(Forward to Angus Stewart’s Sense and
Inconsequence, 1972)

7. Menippean (or Varronian) Satire
● So-called after the (lost) works of the Greek
Cynic philosopher Menippus (3rd century BCE),
or his Roman imitator, Varro (1st century BCE)
● Characterized by:
● miscellaneous contents
● displays of erudition
● comical discussions on philosophical topics
● An example you may already know: Lewis
Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

8. Magic(al) Realism
● A literary form that maintains a “reliable” and
“objective” narrative form while incorporating
fabulous and fantastical events.
● The term was initially applied to a trend in
German fiction in the 1950s.
● However, it is now more commonly associated
with certain authors in Central and South
America.
● Often, the “magical” elements are figures for
the incredibly complex and phantasmagorical
political realities of the contemporary world.