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Part of
The Power of Satire
Edited by Marijke Meijer Drees and Sonja de Leeuw
[Topics in Humor Research 2] 2015
► pp. 217–234

Enlightenment Subverted

Parody as Social Criticism in Pieter van Woensel's Lantaarn

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.
Published online: 22 October 2015
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/thr.2.16nie
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