ABSTRACT
Satire is a word used in various senses: the original meaning in English and other languages is a literary work of a special kind, 'in which vice, follies, stupidities and abuses etc., are held up to ridicule and contempt'. It can also be used collectively of all such literary works, and the art of writing them. It is a legitimate use of the word to talk of satire in the monologue of a night-club or radio entertainer, in the cinema and television, or in the visual arts. For reasons of space, it is not possible to trace the analogies between literary satire and the other arts; but it is hoped that the illustrations to this volume will suggest some of the more interesting connections. Of the many possible topics of satire the pre-eminent one is politics, the most challenging, dangerous and rewarding to the satirist.
