Laughing Atoms, Laughing Matter: Lucretius' De Rerum Natura and Satire

Traits of the satirist involve the use of a personalized voice, comic mockery or blame, justified indignation and collusion between the satirist and audience (26-27). Gellar-Goad does not initially indicate in what quantity or concentrations the features must appear in a given text to trigger an aud...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Classical journal (Classical Association of the Middle West and South) 2022, Vol.117 (3), p.372-374
Main Author: Dance, Caleb M X
Format: Review
Language:English
Subjects:
Audiences
Epicurus (341-270 BC)
Lucretius (Titus Lucretius Carus)
Persius (Aulus Persius Flaccus) (34-62)
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Traits of the satirist involve the use of a personalized voice, comic mockery or blame, justified indignation and collusion between the satirist and audience (26-27). Gellar-Goad does not initially indicate in what quantity or concentrations the features must appear in a given text to trigger an audience's detection of the satiric mode, nor does he seem to subscribe to the idea that all traits must be present in the same passage in order for a satiric voice to become audible, despite a vague statement in Chapter 4 that "Taken together ... these traits make up the particular voice of the satirist" (127). Owing to the diversity of authors and breadth of texts treated, a novice audience may require supplementary orientation to some of the content, but Gellar-Goad routinely defines key terms and reviews influential scholarship in such a way that advanced undergraduates and beyond will find themselves comfortably oriented.
ISSN:0009-8353
2327-5812
DOI:10.1353/tcj.2022.0009