ABSTRACT
There have been satirists, and great satirists, in all kinds of environment. The theory that the ideal environment for satirists is a changing, unstable society is logical and persuasive. The indisputable fact is that the same environment has produced very different kinds of satirists. Within the same environment, writers and satirists have taken opposing points of view. The kind of satirist a man becomes is determined to a large extent by his environment, in the sense that the development of his craft may offer new or encourage old techniques at certain periods. Great satirists usually express their personal views, which may or may not coincide with "the public mind". In the centuries before and after Chaucer, no English satirist matched his skill or originality. Certainly society affects the satirist and his art in obvious ways.
