ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a structural premise, and examines satire mainly from a structural vantage-point. Therefore, satire is regarded as a subclass of irony: it has two layers of meaning, one ostensible and one hidden, of which the hidden should be preferred. As in the case of irony, most writers on satire use various and sometimes overlapping terms to describe its specific ramifications: burlesque, irony, the grotesque, parody and even tragedy are constantly interchanged with satire. The chapter highlights the explicit set of norms: 'Vanyusha', a 'diligent and well-behaved' pupil at the local grammar school, may be perceived by the reader as an exemplary, sweet little boy. Satire is situated somewhere between literature proper, where the literary text does not necessarily enter into referential relationship with the world, and non-literature, where, as in everyday speech, there is a clear referential relationship.
