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Personification
Definition of Satire
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians, are often the subject of satire, but satirists can take... read full definition
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians, are often the subject of... read full definition
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians... read full definition
Act 5, Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—Holofernes's Complaint:
Holofernes, the pedantic schoolmaster, complains to Nathaniel about Armado’s way of speaking. Holofernes’s complaints satirize a certain attitude towards formal education :
He draweth out the thread of his verbosity
finer than the staple of his argument. I abhor
such fanatical phantasimes, such insociable and
point-devise companions, such rackers of orthography,
as to speak “dout,” fine, when he should
say “doubt”; “det” when he should pronounce
“debt”—d, e, b, t, not d, e, t.
Related Themes:
Act 5, Scene 2
Explanation and Analysis—The Nine Worthies:
In this scene, Nathaniel, Holofernes, Mote, Armado, and Costard put on their pageant of the Nine Worthies. The pageant depicts nine great men throughout history, and each man plays several roles. However, each man falls comically short of his assigned parts. Nathaniel’s performance as Alexander the Great satirizes certain ideals of masculinity:
Unlock with LitCharts A+NATHANIEL
When I lived, I was the world's
commander.
By east, west, north, and south, I spread my
conquering might.
My scutcheon plain declares I am Alisander—BOYET
Your nose says no, you are not, for it stands too right.BEROWNE, to Boyet
Your nose smells "no" in <this>, most tender-smelling knight.PRINCESS
The conqueror is dismayed.—Proceed, good Alexander.
Related Themes:
