Satire in the Elizabethian Era

This book argues that the satire of the late Elizabethan period goes far beyond generic rhetorical persuasion, but is instead intentionally engaged in a literary mission of transideological "perceptual translation." This reshaping of culturally orthodoxies is interpreted in this study as both authentic and "activistic" in the sense that satire represents a purpose-driven attempt to build a consensual community devoted to genuine socio-cultural change. The book includes explorations of specific ideologically stabilizing satires produced before the Bishops’ Ban, as well as the attempt to return nihilistic English satire to a stabilizing theatrical form during the tumultuous end of the reign of Elizabeth I. Dr. Jones infuses carefully chosen, modern-day exapmles of satire alongside with those of the Elizabethan Era, making it a thoughtful, vigourous read.

Dr. William R. Jones is an Associate Professor of English at Murray State University