10 August, 2025; 04.28 am to 04.

38 am

Alright — I’ll break this large text into clear line-by-line structured notes with headings and
subheadings so it’s easy to revise for exams like RPSC 1st Grade.
I’ll keep each point concise but detailed enough so you retain the meaning.

SATIRE – Detailed Notes

1. Definition of Satire

 Satire is a literary art form that diminishes or derogates a subject

by making it ridiculous, evoking amusement, contempt, scorn, or
indignation.
 Difference from Comedy:
o Comedy: evokes laughter as an end in itself.
o Satire: uses laughter as a weapon against a target (the “butt”)
outside the work.

2. Targets of Satire

 Personal Satire – An individual.

 Types / Groups – A class, institution, nation, or entire human race.
 Examples:
o Earl of Rochester’s A Satyr against Mankind (1675) – attacks
humanity.
o Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels Book IV – satire on human race.

3. Comic vs Satiric

 Distinction is sharp only at extremes.

 Examples:
o Falstaff (Shakespeare) – purely comic.
o Malvolio (Twelfth Night) – mostly comic with satiric elements.
o Jonson’s Volpone – satire on greed.
o Dryden’s MacFlecknoe – satire on poetaster Thomas Shadwell.

4. Purpose & Justification of Satire

 Seen as corrective to vice and folly.

  Pope: people may feel shame at being ridiculous.
 Claim: ridicule faults, not individuals; focus on corrigible faults.
 Swift: “lashed the vice, spared the name” – avoids mocking
unchangeable defects.

5. Satire in Non-Satiric Works

 Often appears as incidental element:

o Certain characters.
o Situations.
o Ironic commentary.
 When ridicule is the primary organizing principle, the work
becomes a formal satire.

TYPES OF SATIRE

6. Formal (Direct) Satire

 Satiric persona speaks in first person.

 May address:
o The reader directly.
o An adversarius (character eliciting satiric remarks).
 Example: Pope’s Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot – Arbuthnot as adversarius.

6.1. Horatian Satire

 Speaker: urbane, witty, tolerant.

 Tone: amused rather than angry.
 Language: relaxed, informal.
 Aim: “laugh people out of their vices” (Horace).
 Example: Pope’s Moral Essays.

6.2. Juvenalian Satire

 Speaker: serious moralist.

 Style: dignified, public.
 Aim: arouse contempt, indignation, sadness at human vice.
 Example: Johnson’s London, The Vanity of Human Wishes.
 Closely related to the jeremiad (Hebraic tradition).
7. Indirect Satire

 Not in direct address form.

 Commonly a fictional narrative where:
o Characters make themselves ridiculous via thoughts, speech,
actions.
o Author’s commentary adds to ridicule.

7.1. Menippean (Varronian) Satire

 Origin: Cynic philosopher Menippus; Roman imitator Varro.

 Also called anatomy (Frye).
 Form: prose with verse interpolations.
 Structure: loose narrative; often at banquets or parties.
 Features: extended dialogues, debates by eccentric/pedantic
characters.
 Examples:
o Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel
o Voltaire’s Candide
o Peacock’s Nightmare Abbey
o Huxley’s Point Counter Point
o Lewis Carroll’s Alice books.

8. Adaptations of Indirect Satire

 Any genre can be adapted:

o Dryden’s Absalom and Achitophel – Biblical allegory on politics.
o Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels – travel narrative satire.
o A Modest Proposal – political economy parody.
o Addison’s Spectator papers – satiric essays.
o Byron’s Don Juan – verse picaresque satire.
o Plays: Jonson’s The Alchemist, Molière’s The Misanthrope, Shaw’s
Arms and the Man.
o Operettas: Gilbert & Sullivan’s Patience, Gay’s Beggar’s Opera,
Brecht’s Threepenny Opera.
o Eliot’s The Waste Land – verse satire on spiritual barrenness.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

9. Popularity Across Periods

 Written in all periods from Middle Ages onward.

  Restoration & 18th century = golden age.
 Key English satirists: Dryden, Rochester, Butler, Wycherley, Behn,
Addison, Pope, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Swift, Gay, Fielding,
Johnson, Goldsmith, Burns, Blake.
 French satirists: Boileau, La Fontaine, Voltaire, Molière.
 American satire (19th century onward): Washington Irving, Oliver
Wendell Holmes, Mark Twain.

10. Modern Satire

 Essayistic satire in magazines like Punch (UK) & The New Yorker (USA).
 W. H. Auden – satiric poetry.
 Prose/novel form dominant: Waugh’s The Loved One, Heller’s Catch-22,
Vonnegut’s Player Piano & Cat’s Cradle.
 Black humor trend – satire of social cruelty, inanity, chaos.

If you’d like, I can now make 25 exam-oriented MCQs from these notes directly tailored for
RPSC preparation, so you can test recall on all subtypes and examples. That would turn these
notes into a complete study set.

Final Conclusion

Satire is a dynamic literary form that blends humor, irony, and ridicule to
highlight and challenge human faults and societal shortcomings. Through
gentle wit or sharp condemnation, it aims to provoke reflection, encourage
reform, and reveal the absurdities that shape human behavior across all
ages.

Here are 25 important MCQs based on the above content about Satire, specifically designed for
RPSC 1st Grade Exam preparation:

1. Satire is best described as:

a) A form of tragedy
b) A literary art of making a subject ridiculous to evoke amusement or scorn
c) A serious moral poem
d) A type of lyrical verse
Answer: b) A literary art of making a subject ridiculous to evoke amusement or scorn
2. The main difference between comedy and satire is:
a) Comedy always has a happy ending
b) Comedy evokes laughter for its own sake, satire uses laughter as a weapon
c) Comedy is always fictional, satire is factual
d) Satire is longer in length than comedy
Answer: b) Comedy evokes laughter for its own sake, satire uses laughter as a weapon

3. Satire directed at an individual is called:

a) Menippean satire
b) Personal satire
c) Allegorical satire
d) Romantic satire
Answer: b) Personal satire

4. Who is satirized in John Dryden’s MacFlecknoe?

a) Jonathan Swift
b) Alexander Pope
c) Thomas Shadwell
d) Samuel Johnson
Answer: c) Thomas Shadwell

5. According to Alexander Pope, satire serves as:

a) A tool for entertainment
b) A corrective for human vice and folly
c) A form of religious instruction
d) A substitute for drama
Answer: b) A corrective for human vice and folly

6. Jonathan Swift stated that satire should:

a) Attack personal physical defects
b) Spare the name and lash the vice
c) Focus on romantic love
d) Avoid social criticism
Answer: b) Spare the name and lash the vice

7. Formal satire is also known as:

a) Direct satire
b) Indirect satire
c) Dramatic satire
d) Allegorical satire
Answer: a) Direct satire

8. In formal satire, the character who interacts with the satiric speaker is called:
a) Antagonist
b) Adversarius
c) Mentor
d) Narrator
Answer: b) Adversarius

9. The two main types of formal satire are:

a) Romantic and Classical
b) Tragic and Comic
c) Horatian and Juvenalian
d) Dramatic and Epic
Answer: c) Horatian and Juvenalian

10. Horatian satire is characterized by:

a) Harsh moral indignation
b) Wry amusement and tolerance
c) Serious prophetic warnings
d) Violent political attacks
Answer: b) Wry amusement and tolerance

11. Who described his aim in satire as “to laugh people out of their vices and follies”?
a) Juvenal
b) Alexander Pope
c) Horace
d) Jonathan Swift
Answer: c) Horace

12. Juvenalian satire is known for:

a) Relaxed and humorous tone
b) Serious moral criticism and indignation
c) Avoiding moral lessons
d) Use of fictional animals
Answer: b) Serious moral criticism and indignation

13. Samuel Johnson’s London and The Vanity of Human Wishes are examples of:
a) Horatian satire
b) Juvenalian satire
c) Menippean satire
d) Political comedy
Answer: b) Juvenalian satire

14. Indirect satire is most often presented in the form of:

a) Lyrical poems
b) Fictional narratives
c) Speeches
d) Prologues
Answer: b) Fictional narratives
15. Menippean satire is usually written in:
a) Epic poetry
b) Prose with interpolations of verse
c) Blank verse
d) Short rhymed couplets
Answer: b) Prose with interpolations of verse

16. Which of the following is an example of Menippean satire?

a) Pope’s Moral Essays
b) Voltaire’s Candide
c) Johnson’s The Vanity of Human Wishes
d) Swift’s Modest Proposal
Answer: b) Voltaire’s Candide

17. Northrop Frye suggested another name for Menippean satire:

a) Allegory
b) Anatomy
c) Comedy of manners
d) Epic mockery
Answer: b) Anatomy

18. Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland books are classified by Frye as:
a) Juvenalian satire
b) Horatian satire
c) Perfect Menippean satires
d) Allegorical comedies
Answer: c) Perfect Menippean satires

19. John Dryden’s Absalom and Achitophel is a satiric allegory based on:
a) Roman history
b) Old Testament history
c) Greek mythology
d) English fairy tales
Answer: b) Old Testament history

20. Which of the following is a satiric novel in prose?

a) Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
b) Joseph Heller’s Catch-22
c) Johnson’s London
d) Pope’s Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot
Answer: b) Joseph Heller’s Catch-22

21. Much of modern black humor in satire targets:

a) Romantic love
b) Social cruelty, inanity, or chaos
c) Religious institutions
d) Historical inaccuracies
Answer: b) Social cruelty, inanity, or chaos

22. Which period is considered especially rich in satiric achievement in English literature?
a) Elizabethan period
b) Restoration and eighteenth century
c) Romantic period
d) Victorian period
Answer: b) Restoration and eighteenth century

23. Which French author is considered the most eminent satirist in drama?
a) Voltaire
b) Boileau
c) La Fontaine
d) Molière
Answer: d) Molière

24. Mark Twain is known for:

a) Serious religious satire
b) Satiric essays and novels in American literature
c) Medieval satiric drama
d) Satiric operettas
Answer: b) Satiric essays and novels in American literature

25. Which of the following is a famous satiric operetta?

a) The Country Wife
b) Patience by Gilbert and Sullivan
c) Don Juan by Byron
d) Nightmare Abbey by Peacock
Answer: b) Patience by Gilbert and Sullivan

If you want, I can also make a compact one-page "Satire Quick Revision Sheet" with
definitions, types, examples, and key facts for RPSC exam last-minute prep. That would pair
perfectly with these MCQs.

PART 2

Here are 25 Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) on Satire, focusing on definitions, history,

types, examples, and key authors — suitable for RPSC 1st Grade Exam prep.
MCQs on Satire

1. Satire primarily aims to

a) Entertain without any deeper purpose
b) Criticize through ridicule
c) Provide pure emotional relief
d) Narrate historical events
Answer: b) Criticize through ridicule
2. Which of the following differentiates satire from pure comedy?
a) Use of rhyme
b) Use of serious tone
c) Laughter as a weapon for criticism
d) Avoidance of humor
Answer: c) Laughter as a weapon for criticism
3. "A Satyr against Mankind" by the Earl of Rochester targets
a) A specific individual
b) The human race in general
c) Political leaders
d) Poets of his time
Answer: b) The human race in general
4. Which Shakespearean character is considered partly satiric?
a) Falstaff
b) Hamlet
c) Othello
d) Macbeth
Answer: a) Falstaff
5. Alexander Pope’s statement “those who are ashamed of nothing else are so of being
ridiculous” supports satire as a
a) Source of entertainment
b) Corrective of vice and folly
c) Tool for personal revenge
d) Method of historical narration
Answer: b) Corrective of vice and folly
6. In formal satire, the adversarius is
a) The main villain of the story
b) A character addressed by the satirist
c) A critic of the satire
d) The narrator of the satire
Answer: b) A character addressed by the satirist
7. Horatian satire is characterized by
a) Harsh condemnation and moral outrage
b) Gentle humor and tolerant tone
c) Avoidance of personal faults
d) Use of allegory only
Answer: b) Gentle humor and tolerant tone
8. Juvenalian satire differs from Horatian satire by
a) Being milder in tone
b) Using urbane wit
c) Being harsher and more morally serious
d) Avoiding moral commentary
Answer: c) Being harsher and more morally serious
9. Samuel Johnson’s “The Vanity of Human Wishes” is an example of
a) Horatian satire
b) Juvenalian satire
c) Menippean satire
d) Burlesque satire
Answer: b) Juvenalian satire
10. Indirect satire is most often presented in the form of
a) Dramatic monologue
b) Fictional narrative
c) Sonnets
d) Epigrams
Answer: b) Fictional narrative
11. Menippean satire typically includes
a) Strict rhyme and meter
b) Mixture of prose and verse
c) Absence of dialogue
d) Purely tragic themes
Answer: b) Mixture of prose and verse
12. Which of the following is a famous Menippean satire?
a) Gulliver’s Travels
b) Anatomy of Melancholy
c) The Vanity of Human Wishes
d) Don Juan
Answer: b) Anatomy of Melancholy
13. Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” is written in the form of
a) Political pamphlet
b) Comedy play
c) Epic poem
d) Tragic monologue
Answer: a) Political pamphlet
14. Byron’s Don Juan is best described as
a) Menippean satire
b) Horatian satire in verse form
c) Juvenalian epic
d) Purely comic narrative
Answer: b) Horatian satire in verse form
15. Which Restoration play by Ben Jonson is a satiric comedy?
a) The Alchemist
b) Volpone
c) The Country Wife
 d) The Misanthrope
Answer: a) The Alchemist
16. The picaresque form in satire is used mainly to
a) Depict romantic adventures
b) Portray rogue-like protagonists
c) Critique moral philosophy
d) Avoid narrative complexity
Answer: b) Portray rogue-like protagonists
17. Which American author is famous for satiric novels like “The Gilded Age” and “A
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”?
a) Edgar Allan Poe
b) Mark Twain
c) Nathaniel Hawthorne
d) Herman Melville
Answer: b) Mark Twain
18. “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller satirizes
a) Political corruption
b) War bureaucracy
c) Religious hypocrisy
d) Colonial expansion
Answer: b) War bureaucracy
19. Which 18th-century English author is considered a master of satiric prose?
a) John Milton
b) Jonathan Swift
c) Samuel Pepys
d) Thomas Gray
Answer: b) Jonathan Swift
20. The main difference between satire and irony is that
a) Satire always uses verse
b) Satire aims for social criticism
c) Irony uses only sarcasm
d) Irony is harsher than satire
Answer: b) Satire aims for social criticism
21. Which of these is NOT a form of satire?
a) Horatian
b) Juvenalian
c) Aristophanic
d) Menippean
Answer: c) Aristophanic
22. Who described his aim in satire as “to laugh people out of their vices and follies”?
a) Juvenal
b) Horace
c) Swift
d) Pope
Answer: b) Horace
 23. Which of the following combines satire with operatic elements?
a) The Alchemist
b) The Threepenny Opera
c) Volpone
d) The Holy Fair
Answer: b) The Threepenny Opera
24. In satire, “butt” refers to
a) The central comic character
b) The main target of ridicule
c) The ending of the story
d) A humorous subplot
Answer: b) The main target of ridicule
25. Which satirist wrote “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell”?
a) William Blake
b) Robert Burns
c) Alexander Pope
d) Samuel Johnson
Answer: a) William Blake

If you want, I can also prepare a one-page RPSC Satire Revision Sheet with definitions, types,
examples, and key writers so you can revise in under 5 minutes before the exam. That would
complement these MCQs perfectly.