Part of
The Power of SatireEdited by Marijke Meijer Drees and Sonja de Leeuw
[Topics in Humor Research 2] 2015
► pp. 217–234
This article argues that the common satirical technique of parody does not only mock the formal qualities of genres and media, but also functions as a tool for social criticism. This view is illustrated by means of a Dutch satirical case from the late eighteenth century, the almanac-like periodical De Lantaarn (1792–1801) by Pieter van Woensel. It is shown that De Lantaarn’s parody of the almanac, a genre that had strong educational and ‘Enlightening’ connotations at the time, can be interpreted as a critique on contemporary (ab)uses of the Enlightenment discourse. This ‘social criticism through parody’ is what makes satires like De Lantaarn subversive.