

Subsequent orthographic modifications obscured the Latin origin of the word satire: satura becomes satyra, and in England, by the 16th century, it was written 'satyre.' Jerome, for example, was called by one of his enemies 'a satirist in prose' ('satyricus scriptor in prosa'). By about the 4th century AD the writer of satires came to be known as satyricus St. The odd result is that the English “satire” comes from the Latin satura but "satirize", "satiric", etc., are of Greek origin. Robert Elliott writes:Īs soon as a noun enters the domain of metaphor, as one modern scholar has pointed out, it clamours for extension and satura (which had had no verbal, adverbial, or adjectival forms) was immediately broadened by appropriation from the Greek word for “satyr” (satyros) and its derivatives. To Quintilian, the satire was a strict literary form, but the term soon escaped from the original narrow definition. The first critic to use the term "satire" in the modern broader sense was Apuleius. He was aware of and commented on Greek satire, but at the time did not label it as such, although today the origin of satire is considered to be Aristophanes' Old Comedy. Quintilian famously said that satura, that is a satire in hexameter verses, was a literary genre of wholly Roman origin ( satura tota nostra est). The word satura as used by Quintilian, however, was used to denote only Roman verse satire, a strict genre that imposed hexameter form, a narrower genre than what would be later intended as satire.
SAVAGE GRACE FILM FULL
Satur meant "full" but the juxtaposition with lanx shifted the meaning to "miscellany or medley": the expression lanx satura literally means "a full dish of various kinds of fruits". The word satire comes from the Latin word satur and the subsequent phrase lanx satura. 15.1 Theories/critical approaches to satire as a genre.8.2 History of opposition toward notable satires.Satire is found in many artistic forms of expression, including internet memes, literature, plays, commentary, music, film and television shows, and media such as lyrics. This "militant" irony or sarcasm often professes to approve of (or at least accept as natural) the very things the satirist wishes to question.

Although satire is usually meant to be humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society.Ī feature of satire is strong irony or sarcasm -"in satire, irony is militant", according to literary critic Northrop Frye- but parody, burlesque, exaggeration, juxtaposition, comparison, analogy, and double entendre are all frequently used in satirical speech and writing. Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or exposing the perceived flaws of individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement.

1867 edition of Punch, a ground-breaking British magazine of popular humour, including a great deal of satire of the contemporary, social, and political scene.
