Roman Satire

This compact and critically up-to-date introduction to Roman satire examines the development of the genre, focusing particularly on the literary and social functionality of satire. It considers why it was important to the Romans and why it still matters. * Provides a compact and critically up-to-date introduction to Roman satire. * Focuses on the development and function of satire in literary and social contexts. * Takes account of recent critical approaches. * Keeps the uninitiated reader in mind, presuming no prior knowledge of the subject. * Introduces each satirist in his own historical time and place - including the masters of Roman satire, Lucilius, Horace, Persius, and Juvenal. * Facilitates comparative and intertextual discussion of different satirists.

Review: A Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2007 "This is the best introduction to this subject this reviewer has encountered ... It is stimulating, original, and highly informative, and it takes account of all relevant scholarship ... Summing Up: Essential. All readers; all levels." (Choice) "What sets this introductory book apart from others of its kind is its dedication to tackling the perpetually vexing question of satire as a genre - the question that vexed the satirists themselves." (Bryn Mawr Classical Review) "A volume to which one would direct bright students in search of stimulation and intellectual challenge." (Scholia Reviews)