the genre of menippean satire is a form of satire, usually in prose, which has a length and structure similar to a novel and is characterized by attacking mental attitudes instead of specific individuals. other features found in menippean satire are different forms of parody and mythological burlesque, a critique of the myths inherited from traditional culture, a rhapsodic nature, a fragmented narrative, the combination of many different targets, and the rapid moving between styles and points of view. the term is used by classical grammarians and by philologists mostly to refer to satires in prose (cf. the verse satires of juvenal and his imitators). typical mental attitudes attacked and ridiculed by menippean satires are "pedants, bigots, cranks, parvenus, virtuosi, enthusiasts, rapacious and incompetent professional men of all kinds," which are treated as diseases of the intellect.frye, fourth essay, section specific continuous forms (prose fiction)theodore d. kharpertian, thomas pynchon and postmodern american satire pp. 29â30, in kharpertian a hand to turn the time: the menippean satires of thomas pynchon the term menippean satire distinguishes it from the earlier satire pioneered by aristophanes, which was based on personal attacks.mastromarco, giuseppe (1994) introduzione a aristofane (sesta edizione: roma-bari 2004). isbn 88-420-4448-2 pp. 21â22 ==terminology== the form is named after the greek cynic parodist and polemicist menippus (third century bc).branham (1997) p.17 his works, now lost, influenced the works of lucian and marcus terentius varro; such satires are sometimes also termed varronian satire. m. h. abrams classifies menippean satire as one form of indirect satire, the category opposed to the formal satire of direct criticism in the first person.m. h. abrams, a glossary of literary terms (1985 edition), article on satire, pp. 166â8. paul salzman, taking menippean satire as a genre as "rather ill-defined", describes it as a mixture of allegory, picaresque narrative and satirical commentary.paul salzman, narrative contexts for bacon's new atlantis, p. 39, in bronwen price (editor), francis bacon's new atlantis (2002) northrop frye found the term "cumbersome and in modern terms rather misleading", and proposed as replacement the term 'anatomy' (taken from burton's anatomy of melancholy). in his theory of prose fiction it occupies the fourth place with the novel, romance and confession.northrop frye
Cynicism Literary_genres Satire