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140-431: The Disc is the setting for all forty-one Discworld novels; it was influenced by world religions which feature human worlds resting on turtles, as a setting to reflect situations on Earth, in a humorous way. The Discworld is peopled mostly by the three main races of; Men, Dwarves and Trolls. As the novels progress, other lesser known races are included, such as; dragons, elves, goblins and pixies. Pratchett first explored

280-417: A far more obviously extreme and unrealistic tale, involving interplanetary exploration, war among alien life forms, and life inside a 200 mile long whale back in the terrestrial ocean, all intended to make obvious the fallacies of books like Indica and The Odyssey . Medieval Arabic poetry included the satiric genre hija . Satire was introduced into Arabic prose literature by the author Al-Jahiz in

420-479: A half day's journey by horse, less if the horse is Boris from Going Postal ) and to which it is connected by two clacks towers. It encompasses a large boulder emerging out of the Sto Plains like 'a geological pimple', left there by the retreating Ice Giants. The castle is built into this rock. Its most recent king before the present monarch was King Olerve, who was shot with a crossbow by an assassin hired by

560-424: A house in (or even walking into) a region where this has happened is extremely dangerous, as it is mentioned that an individual may not remain the same species, shape or level of sanity as they were when they entered. Medium levels cause odd effects, such as coins landing on their edges and turning into caterpillars. Areas with larger than normal quantities of background magic tend to display unusual qualities, even for

700-532: A human, the easiest way is to convince the cat, on a deep level, that he is a human. In fact, the main reason the Auditors of Reality dislike sentient beings in the Discworld universe is that the Auditors are the personifications of the real-world laws of physics, but the Discworld physics' power of belief and the humans' ignorance constantly remake the world, making their work fruitless. More significantly, it

840-526: A librarian, such as being able to use his hands and feet for re-shelving books. The other wizards have gradually become used to the situation, to the extent that, from Night Watch : "if someone ever reported that there was an orang-utan in the Library, the wizards would probably go and ask the Librarian if he'd seen it." He is known for his violent reaction to most people calling him a " monkey ", as he

980-413: A little even as you chuckle. Laughter is not an essential component of satire; in fact, there are types of satire that are not meant to be "funny" at all. Conversely, not all humour, even on such topics as politics, religion or art is necessarily "satirical", even when it uses the satirical tools of irony, parody, and burlesque . Even light-hearted satire has a serious "after-taste": the organizers of

1120-519: A loose collection of independent city-states, ruled over by a close-knit (and probably interrelated) ruling class. The Sto Plains could be thought of as being similar to Germany prior to the unification of the states into the German Empire , with no overall authority. According to Mort the area was to be united in the coming decades. As reality was given a retcon in the book, the Duke who united

1260-406: A magic mirror, which, like most Discworld scrying devices, is hard to steer. In Soul Music Ridcully improvises, at short notice and with minimal assistance, a slimmed-down version of the rite of AshkEnte for summoning Death. It is also implied that he has some degree of practical magic knowledge ( The Last Continent ). Lords and Ladies reveals that he and a young Esme Weatherwax were in

1400-587: A means of expression and an outlet for common people to express their anger against authoritarian entities. A popular custom in Northern India of "Bura na mano Holi hai" continues, in which comedians on the stage mock local people of importance (who are usually brought in as special guests). Unseen University The Unseen University ( UU ) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett 's Discworld series of fantasy novels . Located in

1540-512: A million thaums, beyond that level, Discworld reality starts to break down. Parodying the introduction of the metric system, later Discworld novels refer to the introduction of the newer unit, the Prime, to avoid arguments over the standard sizing of pigeons. It is defined as the magical energy required to move one pound of lead one foot, referencing the Joule . The thaum also appears to be a particle,

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1680-429: A prominent example from ancient Greece , philosopher Plato , when asked by a friend for a book to understand Athenian society, referred him to the plays of Aristophanes . Historically, satire has satisfied the popular need to debunk and ridicule the leading figures in politics, economy, religion and other prominent realms of power . Satire confronts public discourse and the collective imaginary , playing as

1820-625: A prominent role in Indian and Hindi literature , and is counted as one of the " ras " of literature in ancient books. With the commencement of printing of books in local language in the nineteenth century and especially after India's freedom, this grew. Many of the works of Tulsi Das , Kabir , Munshi Premchand , village minstrels, Hari katha singers, poets, Dalit singers and current day stand up Indian comedians incorporate satire, usually ridiculing authoritarians, fundamentalists and incompetent people in power. In India, it has usually been used as

1960-511: A public opinion counterweight to power (be it political, economic, religious, symbolic, or otherwise), by challenging leaders and authorities. For instance, it forces administrations to clarify, amend or establish their policies. Satire's job is to expose problems and contradictions, and it is not obligated to solve them. Karl Kraus set in the history of satire a prominent example of a satirist role as confronting public discourse. For its nature and social role, satire has enjoyed in many societies

2100-652: A reference to Frances Buss ). It is explained in Soul Music that few of the Discworld's higher-class schools (such as the Ankh-Morpork Assassins' Guild School) will admit female students (although the Assassins have since changed this policy), so Miss Butts founded the College "on the astonishing principle that, since gels had nothing much to do until someone married them, they might as well occupy

2240-493: A relationship some fifty years before Ridcully became Archchancellor. He is deeply affected by her death ( The Shepherd's Crown ). In the Cosgrove Hall animation of Soul Music he was voiced by Graham Crowden . In 2006's miniseries adaptation of Hogfather he was played by Joss Ackland , and in the 2010 adaptation of Going Postal he was portrayed by Timothy West . Professor A.A. Dinwiddie . The Bursar

2380-463: A school of magic, Braseneck College (a parody of Brasenose College, Oxford ), which is apparently in competition for prestige with the larger, older Unseen University in Ankh-Morpork. In fact, the novel Raising Steam makes clear that this rivalry extends to the city level, as Pseudopolis refuses to accept an Ankh-Morpork-constructed trainline. As of Unseen Academicals , the aristocracy of

2520-563: A seat on the Ankh-Morpork council, in which he acts as a magical advisor to the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork . The archchancellor of UU is considered the leader of all wizards on the Disc (by those at the UU), the first among equals . Unseen University has existed for thousands of years, and the average Archchancellor remains in office for about eleven months. As of the final novel, the archchancellor

2660-399: A special freedom license to mock prominent individuals and institutions. The satiric impulse, and its ritualized expressions, carry out the function of resolving social tension. Institutions like the ritual clowns , by giving expression to the antisocial tendencies , represent a safety valve which re-establishes equilibrium and health in the collective imaginary , which are jeopardized by

2800-524: A swamp dragon-breeding dowager duchess in Guards! Guards! . In Sourcery , Quirm was destroyed by wizards in a magic war, but presumably restored by Coin when he put everything back as it had been before the war. Susan Sto Helit , Lady Sybil Ramkin and Miss Perspicacia Tick were educated at the Quirm College for Young Ladies. The school's headmistress and founder is Miss Eulalie Butts (possibly

2940-491: A teacher now, but, apparently, as of Thief of Time , she still is duchess of Sto Helit. Satire Satire is a genre of the visual , literary , and performing arts , usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction , in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposing or shaming the perceived flaws of individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement. Although satire

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3080-550: Is Mustrum Ridcully who assumed the post in Moving Pictures and held it for the rest of the novels. At the time he became archchancellor, Ridcully had not been seen at the university for forty years, having left the university to look after his family's land. Ridcully has shown the occasional flash of magical skill. For example, in Moving Pictures , the Bursar is surprised to discover Ridcully's adeptness at using

3220-452: Is "to go crazy" . The Dean of Pentacles/Archchancellor Henry of Brazeneck College . An obese man ( Moving Pictures ) who is generally found in his study reading a grimoire or in the great hall. He attends some of the functions that are held by guilds or clubs around the city on behalf of the university. According to Ponder Stibbons, he is "normally never nice". He is often susceptible to any occult or semi-magical occurrence happening in

3360-612: Is a necromancer . Since necromancy is officially banned in Ankh-Morpork, he is instead the Head of the Department of Postmortem Communications (although he acknowledges this is just a fancy way of saying necromancy). Hix has one member of staff, a reanimated skeleton called Charlie. He previously had another member of staff, the late Professor Flead, but Hix bound him to a club at the end of Making Money . Hix frequently misbehaves, performs evil deeds and makes comments in bad taste as he

3500-525: Is a member of the Librarians of Time And Space, a group who have the knowledge and ability to travel through L-Space, an extradimensional space that connects all libraries and other large accumulations of books. The Librarian appears in orangutan form in the video games Discworld and Discworld II . In the 2008 TV adaptation of The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic by Sky One , he appears in both human and orang-utan form. His human form

3640-553: Is a quiet, reserved person. He took over the job from the previous Bursar, Spelter, after the latter was killed trying to save the library from destruction in Sourcery . Dinwiddie reacts to the stress of the events in the series by becoming less and less tethered to reality. By the events of Reaper Man , Dr. Dinwiddie is almost completely insensible. The Bursar's insanity has become a byword in Ankh-Morpork : "to go Bursar"

3780-424: Is a satire in hexameter verses, was a literary genre of wholly Roman origin ( satura tota nostra est ). He was aware of and commented on Greek satire, but at the time did not label it as such, although today the origin of satire is considered to be Aristophanes' Old Comedy . The first critic to use the term satire in the modern broader sense was Apuleius . To Quintilian, the satire was a strict literary form, but

3920-528: Is a slight reference to this in The Last Continent , when the wizards notice that they not only don't know the Librarian's name, but they also don't know the names of one another. In Unseen Academicals , Ridcully has difficulty remembering the Dean's name, despite having started at UU around the same time. The head of Unseen University is the archchancellor , considered an important figure and holds

4060-399: Is almost always highly trained in martial arts. Discworld witches often employ narrative in their magic, but consider it ethically tricky since it interferes with free will . Discworld wizards avoid doing so because narrative that severely strains credibility requires outright sources of magic to feed on, sometimes indiscriminately. Knowledge of stories, their use and how to change them forms

4200-542: Is also belief that gives Discworld's gods their powers. Discworld gods start off as tiny spirits, and gain power as they gain believers; this is explored most thoroughly in Small Gods . A similar effect has led to the personalisation and "reification" in the Discworld universe of mythological beings symbolising abstract concepts, such as Death , the Hogfather and other anthropomorphic personifications. In Hogfather ,

4340-417: Is also the location of Dunmanifestin, the home of many of the Disc's gods and the Discworld analogue of real-world Greek mythology 's Mount Olympus . The area surrounding Cori Celesti is known as The Hub, a land of high, icebound mountains that serves as an analogue to the real-world Himalayas , polar regions (since, although the Disc has no poles as such, it is as far as possible from the Disc's edge and thus

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4480-415: Is an apotropaic rite in which the sin-eater (also called filth-eater), by ingesting the food provided, takes "upon himself the sins of the departed". Satire about death overlaps with black humor and gallows humor . Another classification by topics is the distinction between political satire, religious satire and satire of manners. Political satire is sometimes called topical satire, satire of manners

4620-442: Is an actual mouse. Its "brain" consists of a series of glass tubes filled with ants, which form its processor, and a beehive in a back room, which constitutes its hard drive. It bears a sticker up front saying that there is an anthill inside (a parody of the advertising slogan " Intel Inside "). Initially just a computer, it has gradually developed more of a personality over the course of the series. Ponder Stibbons has by default become

4760-699: Is an almost landlocked body of water approximately halfway between the Hub and the Rim, opening at the turnwise side into the Rim Ocean. The Circle Sea is analogous to the Mediterranean , in that it is bordered both by countries on the Sto Plains (Europe) and continent of Klatch (Middle East, North Africa). Its principal trading ports are Ankh-Morpork and Al Khali and Ephebe on the Rimwards side. The countries around

4900-601: Is an enclave in which satire can be introduced into mass media , challenging mainstream discourse. Comedy roasts , mock festivals, and stand-up comedians in nightclubs and concerts are the modern forms of ancient satiric rituals. One of the earliest examples of what might be called satire, The Satire of the Trades , is in Egyptian writing from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. The text's apparent readers are students, tired of studying. It argues that their lot as scribes

5040-404: Is believed strongly enough, or by enough people, it may become true. Jokes such as treacle mines and drop bears are real on the Disc. In reality lemmings do not actually rush en masse off cliffs; on the Disc, they do, because that is what people believe. These concepts of Discworld physics are also exploited in both wizard and witch magic. For example, when a character wishes to turn a cat into

5180-531: Is described as roughly 10,000 miles (16,000 km) wide, giving it a surface area two-fifths that of the Earth , which would make it roughly the size of the Pacific Ocean . In addition to its flatness, Pratchett gives it another principal geographic feature; Cori Celesti, a 10-mile-high (16 km) mountain that lies at its exact centre and is the point of origin for its standing magical field. Cori Celesti

5320-468: Is hypothesised that new turtles would be born to carry a new pattern of worlds. Attempts by telepaths to learn more about Great A'Tuin's intents have not met with much success, mainly because they did not realise that its brain functions are on such a slow timescale. All they have been able to discern is that the Great A'Tuin is looking forward to something. The other theory, described as being popular among

5460-408: Is known as narrativium, the elemental substance of Story . Nothing on the Disc can exist without a Story first existing to mould its destiny and determine its form. This is, perhaps, a take on the fact that nothing can ever happen on the Disc unless it is written in a story by Terry Pratchett. On the Disc, if a story or legend is told often enough and believed by enough people, it becomes true. This

5600-609: Is known as the law of narrative causality. For example, characters in Guards! Guards! describe the marauding (noble) dragon as an "impossible" creature, yet it is able to fly and breathe fire because that is what dragons are expected to do . Similarly, a witch gone bad may meet a bad end after building a house of gingerbread . If a miller has a third son, he will invariably leave him only his cat . A hero will always win when outnumbered, since million-to-one chances are dramatic enough to "crop up nine times out of ten", but always lose when faced with "a little bald wrinkly smiling man" who

5740-406: Is not only useful, but far superior to that of the ordinary man. Scholars such as Helck think that the context was meant to be serious. The Papyrus Anastasi I (late 2nd millennium BC) contains a satirical letter which first praises the virtues of its recipient, but then mocks the reader's meagre knowledge and achievements. The Greeks had no word for what later would be called "satire", although

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5880-459: Is octiron, a dense black metal that is a large part of the Discworld's crust. Its melting point is above the range of metal forges. The gates of Unseen University are made out of it, as is Old Tom, the university's bell. It is used to make magic needles and bells. It releases magical radiation, but if it becomes negatively polarised, it can be used to absorb such radiation. It generates significant amounts of heat under pressure, accounting for most of

6020-453: Is often pessimistic, characterized by the use of irony, sarcasm, moral indignation and personal invective, with less emphasis on humor. Strongly polarized political satire can often be classified as Juvenalian. A Juvenal satirist's goal is generally to provoke some sort of political or societal change because he sees his opponent or object as evil or harmful. A Juvenal satirist mocks "societal structure, power, and civilization" by exaggerating

6160-782: Is played by Nicolas Tennant, who had previously played Corporal Nobbs in Terry Pratchett's Hogfather . Professor Stibbons is, among other things, Head of Inadvisably Applied Magic, Praelector and Reader in Invisible Writings, the Master of Traditions, the Camerlengo of Unseen University, the keeper of Hex (the university's computer), and the right-hand man of Archchancellor Ridcully. His entry in The New Discworld Companion states: In

6300-462: Is required to under university statute, a fact which the other members of UU grudgingly accept. He uses the phrase "Skull ring, remember?" as an excuse for his misbehavior, much like the Patrician's use of the phrase, "Tyrant, remember?". Hix may be a parody of Peter Higgs . Hex is the UU's first mainframe computer, though instead of RAM, it is powered by a waterwheel inside a ram skull, and its mouse

6440-592: Is said to be much easier to discover than fire, and only slightly harder to discover than water. One of Rincewind's many accumulated positions is Reader in Slood Dynamics. The General Theory of Slood was discovered by Archchancellor Sloman, and a stained glass window representing this event is in the meeting room of the Unseen University college council. The University's plumbing system contains pipes for maintaining slood differential. The Disc itself

6580-465: Is sometimes called satire of everyday life, and religious satire is sometimes called philosophical satire. Comedy of manners , sometimes also called satire of manners, criticizes mode of life of common people; political satire aims at behavior, manners of politicians, and vices of political systems. Historically, comedy of manners, which first appeared in British theater in 1620, has uncritically accepted

6720-458: Is technically an ape . He primarily uses the word Ook , inflected for simple affirmations and negations, though he occasionally uses Eeek in moments of panic or rage. Nonetheless, most people seem able to understand him. As with other members of the UU faculty, the Librarian is referred to by his office and not by a name. There are rumours that, pre-transformation, he was named Dr. Horace Worblehat, though no one speaks about it. The Librarian

6860-552: Is the reactionary side of the comic ; it limits itself to a shallow parody of physical appearance. The side-effect of teasing is that it humanizes and draws sympathy for the powerful individual towards which it is directed. Satire instead uses the comic to go against power and its oppressions, has a subversive character, and a moral dimension which draws judgement against its targets. Fo formulated an operational criterion to tell real satire from sfottò , saying that real satire arouses an outraged and violent reaction, and that

7000-582: Is the first to define this concept of Yuyan. During the Qin and Han dynasty, however, the concept of yuyan mostly died out through their heavy persecution of dissent and literary circles, especially by Qin Shi Huang and Han Wudi . The first Roman to discuss satire critically was Quintilian , who invented the term to describe the writings of Gaius Lucilius . The two most prominent and influential ancient Roman satirists are Horace and Juvenal , who wrote during

7140-521: Is the nature of belief on the Disc that temporary new gods come into being on a regular basis, and often for such mundane things as stuck drawers; Anoia, Goddess of Things That Get Stuck in Drawers, came into her powers in such a manner, though she was previously a volcano goddess. The Disc's nature is fundamentally teleological ; its basic composition is determined by what it is ultimately meant to be. This primary element, out of which all others spring,

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7280-405: Is the principal force in the Discworld and operates in a similar vein to real-world elemental forces such as gravity and electromagnetism . The Disc's "standing magical field" is essentially the local breakdown of reality, which allows a flat planet on the back of a turtle to even exist. The force called "magic" is really just a function of the relative absence of reality in the local area, much in

7420-461: Is the thaum (from the Greek thauma , marvel), equal to the amount of mystical energy required to conjure up one small white pigeon , or three normal-sized billiard balls . Several SI -modifiers have been applied to it (e.g. millithaum, kilothaum) in the books. Magic can be measured with a thaumometer, which is described as a black cube with a dial on one side. A standard thaumometer is good for up to

7560-518: Is unknown to the inhabitants of Discworld (though in The Colour of Magic Pratchett describes the turtle as male), but the subject of much speculation by some of the Disc's finest scientific minds. The sex of the World Turtle is pivotal in proving or disproving a number of conflicting theories about the destination of Great A'Tuin's journey through the cosmos . If, as the Discworld version of

7700-574: Is usually meant to be humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism , using wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society. A prominent feature of satire is strong irony or sarcasm —"in satire, irony is militant ", according to literary critic Northrop Frye — but parody , burlesque , exaggeration , juxtaposition , comparison, analogy, and double entendre are all frequently used in satirical speech and writing. This "militant" irony or sarcasm often professes to approve of (or at least accept as natural)

7840-628: The Early Middle Ages , examples of satire were the songs by Goliards or vagants now best known as an anthology called Carmina Burana and made famous as texts of a composition by the 20th-century composer Carl Orff . Satirical poetry is believed to have been popular, although little has survived. With the advent of the High Middle Ages and the birth of modern vernacular literature in the 12th century, it began to be used again, most notably by Chaucer . The disrespectful manner

7980-572: The Ig Nobel Prize describe this as "first make people laugh, and then make them think". Satire and irony in some cases have been regarded as the most effective source to understand a society, the oldest form of social study. They provide the keenest insights into a group's collective psyche , reveal its deepest values and tastes, and the society's structures of power. Some authors have regarded satire as superior to non-comic and non-artistic disciplines like history or anthropology . In

8120-743: The Renaissance were Giovanni Boccaccio and François Rabelais . Other examples of Renaissance satire include Till Eulenspiegel , Reynard the Fox , Sebastian Brant 's Narrenschiff (1494), Erasmus 's Moriae Encomium (1509), Thomas More 's Utopia (1516), and Carajicomedia (1519). The Elizabethan (i.e. 16th-century English) writers thought of satire as related to the notoriously rude, coarse and sharp satyr play. Elizabethan "satire" (typically in pamphlet form) therefore contains more straightforward abuse than subtle irony. The French Huguenot Isaac Casaubon pointed out in 1605 that satire in

8260-571: The Resaleh-ye Delgosha , as well as Akhlaq al-Ashraf ("Ethics of the Aristocracy") and the famous humorous fable Masnavi Mush-O-Gorbeh (Mouse and Cat), which was a political satire. His non-satirical serious classical verses have also been regarded as very well written, in league with the other great works of Persian literature . Between 1905 and 1911, Bibi Khatoon Astarabadi and other Iranian writers wrote notable satires. In

8400-667: The Sharia " and later Arabic poets in turn using the term "Farazdaq-like" as a form of political satire. The terms " comedy " and "satire" became synonymous after Aristotle 's Poetics was translated into Arabic in the medieval Islamic world , where it was elaborated upon by Islamic philosophers and writers, such as Abu Bischr, his pupil Al-Farabi , Avicenna , and Averroes . Due to cultural differences, they disassociated comedy from Greek dramatic representation and instead identified it with Arabic poetic themes and forms, such as hija (satirical poetry). They viewed comedy as simply

8540-590: The post . Astolat is a legendary location in Arthurian mythology , and Sto lat is also a traditional Polish song equivalent to Happy Birthday to You ( sto lat literally means "hundred years"). Sto Helit is a duchy within Sto Lat, which was given to Mort in Mort , after he'd saved Queen Kelirehenna. After his death in Soul Music , his duchy apparently was passed to his daughter, Susan . She works as

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8680-442: The red- and blue-shifting of light becomes noticeable when travelling at speeds of merely a one hundred and twenty miles per hour (190 km/h). Reality is spread thinly on the Disc, so events may be affected by expectations, especially those of 'intelligent' species such as humans, dwarves, etc. As such, the Discworld is not governed by real-world physics or logic but by belief and narrative resolution. Essentially, if something

8820-523: The repressive aspects of society . The state of political satire in a given society reflects the tolerance or intolerance that characterizes it, and the state of civil liberties and human rights . Under totalitarian regimes any criticism of a political system, and especially satire, is suppressed. A typical example is the Soviet Union where the dissidents , such as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Andrei Sakharov were under strong pressure from

8960-685: The "art of reprehension", and made no reference to light and cheerful events, or troubled beginnings and happy endings, associated with classical Greek comedy. After the Latin translations of the 12th century , the term "comedy" thus gained a new semantic meaning in Medieval literature . Ubayd Zakani introduced satire in Persian literature during the 14th century. His work is noted for its satire and obscene verses, often political or bawdy, and often cited in debates involving homosexual practices. He wrote

9100-450: The 9th century. While dealing with serious topics in what are now known as anthropology , sociology and psychology , he introduced a satirical approach, "based on the premise that, however serious the subject under review, it could be made more interesting and thus achieve greater effect, if only one leavened the lump of solemnity by the insertion of a few amusing anecdotes or by the throwing out of some witty or paradoxical observations. He

9240-624: The Chair for the Public Misunderstanding of Magic, and the positions of Professor of Virtual Anthropology, Egregious Professor of Cruel and Unusual Geography, Reader in Slood Dynamics, Fretwork Teacher, Lecturer in Approximate Accuracy, and Health and Safety Officer. These apparently unwanted positions were awarded to Rincewind provided that he does not receive any salary. Prior to receiving these titles, Rincewind held

9380-508: The Circle Sea are Ankh-Morpork , Ephebe , Djelibeybi , Klatch, Omnia and Tsort. The Circle Sea is the location of Leshp, an island that occasionally rises to the surface on a cushion of foul-smelling gas, before settling back to the seafloor once more. Leshp's last appearance sparked a near-war between Ankh-Morpork and Klatch in Jingo . The unnamed continent is the one on which most of

9520-439: The Dean leaves to become Archchancellor of the rival Brazeneck College. The Dean became the first person to voluntarily resign from the university – something previously considered unthinkable (as people usually left "in disgrace, in a box or, in a few cases, in bits" ). The Librarian appeared in the second novel of the series, The Light Fantastic , where he was transformed into an orang-utan . This had certain advantages for

9660-462: The Disc use a compass with a needle of the magical metal octiron , which will always point towards Cori Celesti. Light is so oddly affected by magic that, as it passes into the Disc's atmosphere, it actually slows down from millions to hundreds of miles an hour. One odd effect of this is that the Disc has time zones , however, as a flat world, it should not. Another effect is that, as reported in Thud! ,

9800-421: The Disc, (e.g. the number of the colour of Magic, octarine) and should never be spoken by wizards, especially in certain places. Doing so may allow the ancient dungeon dimension creature "Bel-Shamharoth the sender of eight" to break through (this is taken to an extreme end in one book, as even the narrator takes great pains to avoid saying the word). On the other hand, eight turns up in many places one would expect

9940-531: The Disc. Very high quantities of magic can knock a hole in Discworld reality, leading to an invasion by Lovecraftian monstrosities from the Dungeon Dimensions, or, almost as bad, the world of the Elves . In the Discworld universe, magic is broken into elementary particulate fragments in much the same way that energy and other forces are in real-world quantum physics . The basic unit of Discworld magic

10080-503: The Discworld are not given as North, South, East and West, but rather as directions relating to the disc itself: Hubward (towards the centre), Rimward (away from the centre) and to a lesser extent, turnwise (direction of the disc's rotation) and widdershins (against the direction of the disc's rotation). The drawing on the front cover of Jingo shows a weathercock fitted with the requisite H , R , T and W letters. The disc rotates clockwise as seen from above. The Circle Sea

10220-402: The Discworld physics equivalent of the atom . "Splitting the thaum" revealed that it was in fact composed of numerous sub-particles, called resons ("thingies") which in turn are created from a combination of up to five "flavours": up, down, sideways, sex appeal, and peppermint (parodying the real-world quarks ). In the opening books, the number eight is significant and has magical properties on

10360-476: The Discworld's academics as the Discworld version of the steady state theory , which in-universe is known as the "steady gait" theory, is that Great A'Tuin came from nowhere and is going to keep swimming through space to nowhere forever. Eric shows Great A'Tuin being made instantly from nothing, seemingly in support of the "steady gait" theory; however, the events in The Light Fantastic , in which

10500-439: The Discworld, also referred to as the eighth colour . This fictional colour is strongly indicative of magic and can only be seen by wizards and cats, who both possess "octagon cells" in addition to the normal cones and rods possessed by humans. (See tetrachromacy for the real-world equivalent.). Rincewind, a wizard, describes it as resembling a fluorescent greenish-yellow purple. The Disc contains magical substances. One such

10640-685: The Duchess Annagovia of Borogravia in Monstrous Regiment . It is possible for gods to derive power from misotheists , as demonstrated in Small Gods when Om takes a liking to the ardently anti-Omnianist Sergeant Simony. As demonstrated in Faust Eric and Mort , personal belief determines someone's fate in the afterlife, rather than divine judgement, whether it is going to paradise or Hell, or being reincarnated. Such

10780-572: The Great A'Tuin attended the hatching of eight baby turtles, each with four baby elephants and a tiny discworld of their own, would seem to support the Big Bang hypothesis. The little turtles have since gone off on their own journeys. Whether this was the event the Great A'Tuin was looking forward to or merely one step towards its ultimate goal is not mentioned. Great A'Tuin has been mentioned to frequently roll on its belly to avoid asteroid and comet collisions, or even to snatch these projectiles out of

10920-413: The Great A'Tuin's travelling through the universe, the night sky of the Discworld changes markedly over the course of decades, as the turtle departs older constellations and enters new ones. This means that astrologers must constantly update and alter their horoscopes to incorporate all-new zodiacs. A tiny sun and moon orbit the Great A'Tuin, both about 1 mile (1.6 km) in diameter when described at

11060-519: The Latin satura; but "satirize", "satiric", etc., are of Greek origin. By about the 4th century AD the writer of satires came to be known as satyricus; St. Jerome, for example, was called by one of his enemies 'a satirist in prose' ('satyricus scriptor in prosa'). Subsequent orthographic modifications obscured the Latin origin of the word satire: satura becomes satyra, and in England, by the 16th century, it

11200-562: The Marquis des Aix en Pains speaks Morporkian with a French accent. Quirm is famous for its floral clock : a circle of flowers, each of which opens its petals at a different hour. Quirm is also famous for its (blue-veined) cheese. Quirmian cuisine is generally characterised by avec (French for "with"). Quirm is a duchy ruled by the Rodley family. Members of this family include Lord Rodley, an upper-class twit in Mort , and Brenda Rodley,

11340-470: The Pseudopolis city militias; curiously (and this may be no more than a coincidence, although there may be a connection given Nobby's penchant for nicking and flogging [i.e., stealing and selling] anything not nailed down), Pseudopolis always lost its wars at this period because of an unaccountable shortage of weapons. John Keel, a city watchman, moved from Pseudopolis to Ankh-Morpork and was the mentor of

11480-508: The Rim, a great, encircling waterfall (the Rimfall) sends the Disc's oceans cascading into space. Pratchett is evasive about how the water eventually returns to refill the oceans, only saying, "Arrangements are made." The mist from the plunging waters creates the Rimbow, an eight-colour (the eighth is octarine ) double rainbow consisting both of light and of magic. Cardinal directions within

11620-472: The Roman fashion was something altogether more civilised. Casaubon discovered and published Quintilian's writing and presented the original meaning of the term (satira, not satyr), and the sense of wittiness (reflecting the "dishfull of fruits") became more important again. Seventeenth-century English satire once again aimed at the "amendment of vices" ( Dryden ). In the 1590s a new wave of verse satire broke with

11760-436: The Roman satirist Horace (65–8 BCE), playfully criticizes some social vice through gentle, mild, and light-hearted humour. Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) wrote Satires to gently ridicule the dominant opinions and "philosophical beliefs of ancient Rome and Greece". Rather than writing in harsh or accusing tones, he addressed issues with humor and clever mockery. Horatian satire follows this same pattern of "gently [ridiculing]

11900-399: The Sto Plains was Mort, and he did it by diplomacy rather than conquest. The principal city of the Sto Plains is Ankh-Morpork . While it does not exert any political power over its neighbors, its economic domination of the region (summed up by the phrase, "Attack us, and we'll call in your mortgages") has meant that the smaller cities around it are essentially its satellites. For some reason,

12040-650: The United Kingdom, or even Greece (as a description in Unseen Academicals describes Quirm as having "strange water", which is the typical stereotype of the Greek water supply). The Quirmian language is occasionally described as similar to French or Spanish, but Snuff notes that all Quirmians speak perfect Morporkian. Spoken Quirmian in Making Money , is identical to French. In Raising Steam ,

12180-433: The absurdities and follies of human beings". It directs wit, exaggeration, and self-deprecating humour toward what it identifies as folly, rather than evil. Horatian satire's sympathetic tone is common in modern society. A Horatian satirist's goal is to heal the situation with smiles, rather than by anger. Horatian satire is a gentle reminder to take life less seriously and evokes a wry smile. Juvenalian satire, named for

12320-450: The aim of humanizing his image. Types of satire can also be classified according to the topics it deals with. From the earliest times, at least since the plays of Aristophanes , the primary topics of literary satire have been politics , religion and sex . This is partly because these are the most pressing problems that affect anybody living in a society, and partly because these topics are usually taboo . Among these, politics in

12460-660: The assassin Mr. Teatime tries to kill the patron of Hogswatch by using an old magic that involves controlling a person with a part of their body (in this case, the teeth collected by the Tooth Fairies), in order to stop children from believing in him, and almost succeeds. It is also possible for humans to gain godly powers through the power of belief, typically venerated rulers such as the Kings of Djelibeybi as seen in Pyramids , and

12600-524: The basis of many forms of magical power in Discworld physics. Pratchett characters who use or change stories include Lilith, Black Aliss, and Granny Weatherwax. The habit of many Discworlders to take metaphor literally has combined with the power of belief to produce some very odd areas on the Discworld. The Place Where The Sun Does Not Shine, for instance, is a deep crevasse in Lancre, incidentally located between A Rock and A Hard Place. The colour of magic on

12740-399: The books are set. It is essentially the analogue of Europe, and contains among other things the Sto Plains and Ramtops, as well as the more Eastern European lands around Überwald. The Sto Plains are the rough analogue to Western Europe on the Discworld. They are a land of rich black loam, upon which rests a great squat forest of cabbages . In Soul Music , a footnote states various facts of

12880-416: The broader sense is considered the pre-eminent topic of satire. Satire which targets the clergy is a type of political satire , while religious satire is that which targets religious beliefs . Satire on sex may overlap with blue comedy , off-color humor and dick jokes . Scatology has a long literary association with satire, as it is a classical mode of the grotesque , the grotesque body and

13020-487: The city appear to have undertaken an experiment in representative democracy , much to Lord Vetinari 's amusement. While no Discworld novels have been set in Pseudopolis, a number of characters have roots there. Eric Thursley lives/lived at 13 Midden Lane ( Faust Eric ). Charlie, a man with an extraordinary physical resemblance to Ankh-Morpork Patrician Havelock Vetinari , ran a clothes shop there ( The Truth ). Nobby Nobbs had an early career as an armourer in one of

13160-507: The coat of arms has a hippo on each side. Pseudopolis (its name translates to "false city") is first mentioned in the first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic . That novel also refers to Psephopololis, which according to The Discworld Mapp is the same place. The city is not to be confused with Pseudopolis Yard, the headquarters of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch (a reference to Scotland Yard ). Pseudopolis possesses

13300-522: The early days of the Roman Empire . Other important satirists in ancient Latin are Gaius Lucilius and Persius . Satire in their work is much wider than in the modern sense of the word, including fantastic and highly coloured humorous writing with little or no real mocking intent. When Horace criticized Augustus , he used veiled ironic terms. In contrast, Pliny reports that the 6th-century-BC poet Hipponax wrote satirae that were so cruel that

13440-487: The early modern period. The dutch translation Van den vos Reynaerde is considered a major medieval dutch literary work. In the dutch version De Vries argues that the animal characters represent barons who conspired against the Count of Flanders. Direct social commentary via satire returned in the 16th century, when texts such as the works of François Rabelais tackled more serious issues. Two major satirists of Europe in

13580-423: The expression lanx satura literally means "a full dish of various kinds of fruits". The use of the word lanx in this phrase, however, is disputed by B.L. Ullman. The word satura as used by Quintilian , however, was used to denote only Roman verse satire, a strict genre that imposed hexameter form, a narrower genre than what would be later intended as satire . Quintilian famously said that satura, that

13720-516: The fashion was brought to an abrupt stop by censorship. Another satiric genre to emerge around this time was the satirical almanac , with François Rabelais 's work Pantagrueline Prognostication (1532), which mocked astrological predictions. The strategies François utilized within this work were employed by later satirical almanacs, such as the Poor Robin series that spanned the 17th to 19th centuries. Satire ( Kataksh or Vyang ) has played

13860-575: The fictional city of Ankh-Morpork , the UU is staffed by mostly indolent and inept old wizards. The university's name is a pun on the Invisible College , and many aspects of the university are references to Oxford and Cambridge University . The exploits of the head wizards of the Unseen University are one of the main plot threads in the long-running fantasy series, and have played a central role in 13 novels to date, as well as

14000-472: The film version of Hogfather he is portrayed by Ed Coleman . Stibbons also appears in the video game Discworld II , in the High Energy Facility. He is characterized differently than in the books, evidenced by his erratic speech patterns and verbal tics, as well as his denials that he is being adversely affected by working on Hex . Rincewind holds the Chair of Experimental Serendipity,

14140-786: The four supplementary Science of Discworld novels and the short story, A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices . The staff usually come in a group in the books in which they appear, though Rincewind initially followed his own storyline, only being a part of the group in the Science of Discworld books and Unseen Academicals , and the Librarian makes solo appearances in several books. Ridcully and Ponder also appeared in Going Postal and Night Watch . Ridcully alone appears in Thud! . The wizards are referred to by their offices (e.g. "ancient runes"), rather than names. There

14280-600: The government. While satire of everyday life in the USSR was allowed, the most prominent satirist being Arkady Raikin , political satire existed in the form of anecdotes that made fun of Soviet political leaders, especially Brezhnev , famous for his narrow-mindedness and love for awards and decorations. Satire is a diverse genre which is complex to classify and define, with a wide range of satiric "modes". Satirical literature can commonly be categorized as either Horatian, Juvenalian, or Menippean . Horatian satire, named for

14420-584: The idea of a disc-shaped world in the novel Strata (1981). Great A'Tuin is the Giant Star Turtle (of the fictional species Chelys galactica ) who travels through the Discworld universe's space , carrying four giant elephants (named Berilia, Tubul, Great T'Phon, and Jerakeen) who in turn carry the Discworld. The narration has described A'Tuin as "the only turtle ever to feature on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram ". Great A'Tuin's sex

14560-512: The inhabitants of a world where he forgot to include any. Since fingles do not exist on Earth, it is implied that Earth is the planet the Creator is referring to, and humanity is the species that is fundamentally incomplete because of their absence. Another is slood. First mentioned in The Last Continent , slood is a natural substance that could be discovered by intelligent beings, but that humans on Earth have been too unintelligent to find; it

14700-598: The larger community the self identifies with. The audience's understanding of the context of reflexive humour is important for its receptivity and success. Satire is found not only in written literary forms. In preliterate cultures it manifests itself in ritual and folk forms, as well as in trickster tales and oral poetry . It appears also in graphic arts, music, sculpture, dance, cartoon strips , and graffiti . Examples are Dada sculptures, Pop Art works, music of Gilbert and Sullivan and Erik Satie , punk and rock music . In modern media culture , stand-up comedy

14840-679: The luminescent side is completely visible from the Disc; the new moon when the dark side is shown. The sun's orbit is so complex that one of the elephants has to cock its leg to allow the sun to continue on its orbit. According to the wizards of Unseen University , Chelys galactica , and thus Great A'Tuin, are composed largely of the fictional element chelonium, the properties of which are apparently known to them (they do tests to look for it in Roundworld [the Discworld analogue of Earth] in The Science of Discworld ), but not to readers. Magic

14980-725: The more they try to stop you, the better is the job you are doing. Fo contends that, historically, people in positions of power have welcomed and encouraged good-humoured buffoonery, while modern day people in positions of power have tried to censor, ostracize and repress satire. Teasing ( sfottò ) is an ancient form of simple buffoonery , a form of comedy without satire's subversive edge. Teasing includes light and affectionate parody, good-humoured mockery, simple one-dimensional poking fun, and benign spoofs. Teasing typically consists of an impersonation of someone monkeying around with his exterior attributes, tics , physical blemishes, voice and mannerisms, quirks, way of dressing and walking, and/or

15120-407: The number seven in the real world (e.g. the Discworld week contains eight days, not seven). After The Colour of Magic , both the colour and the number eight no longer appear as dangerous. The Disc's magical field is centred on Cori Celesti. Everyday natural forces, such as light and magnetism , are muffled by the power of the Disc's magical field, and rather than a magnetised needle, navigators on

15260-410: The offended hanged themselves. In the 2nd century AD, Lucian wrote True History , a book satirizing the clearly unrealistic travelogues/adventures written by Ctesias , Iambulus , and Homer . He states that he was surprised they expected people to believe their lies, and stating that he, like them, has no actual knowledge or experience, but shall now tell lies as if he did. He goes on to describe

15400-583: The original Duke of Sto Helit, a thoroughly nasty man who staged a bid for the succession, thwarted only by Mort in Mort . At the end of Mort , Princess Keli became Queen. Politically, Sto Lat is the capital of a kingdom ruled by Queen Kelirehenna, which includes Sto Helit, Sto Kerrig, and the Eight Protectorates. Her authority is exercised through a Mayor. The kingdom was one of the first places outside Ankh-Morpork to adopt its own stampings for

15540-410: The other. Max Eastman defined the spectrum of satire in terms of "degrees of biting", as ranging from satire proper at the hot-end, and "kidding" at the violet-end; Eastman adopted the term kidding to denote what is just satirical in form, but is not really firing at the target. Nobel laureate satirical playwright Dario Fo pointed out the difference between satire and teasing ( sfottò ). Teasing

15680-477: The phrases he typically repeats. By contrast, teasing never touches on the core issue, never makes a serious criticism judging the target with irony ; it never harms the target's conduct, ideology and position of power; it never undermines the perception of his morality and cultural dimension. Sfottò directed towards a powerful individual makes him appear more human and draws sympathy towards him. Hermann Göring propagated jests and jokes against himself, with

15820-546: The popular " Big Bang theory " states, Great A'Tuin is moving from the Birthplace to the Time of Mating, then at the point of mating the civilisations of the Disc might be crushed, simply slide off, or else the entire world will end. The hypothesis is that all stars in the sky are also worlds carried by giant turtles, and that when all the turtles meet they will mate passionately, for the first and only time; from that mating, it

15960-421: The post of Assistant Librarian, but it is unclear whether or not he retains the office. Rincewind is often concerned with his life, as many people all across Discworld have attempted to take it. In the film version of The Colour of Magic he is portrayed by David Jason . Dr. John Hix – 'Hicks with an X' in Unseen Academicals , after changing his name from Hicks because it didn't suit his position. Dr Hix

16100-604: The publication of Hall 's Virgidemiarum , six books of verse satires targeting everything from literary fads to corrupt noblemen. Although Donne had already circulated satires in manuscript, Hall's was the first real attempt in English at verse satire on the Juvenalian model. The success of his work combined with a national mood of disillusion in the last years of Elizabeth's reign triggered an avalanche of satire—much of it less conscious of classical models than Hall's — until

16240-475: The region: The cabbage has an almost mythic status among the people of the Sto Plains, and is an emblem of its largest and dominant city, Ankh-Morpork , which is located near the northeast of the coat of arms. Many young people who leave the farming areas of the Plains for life in the big city would happily never see a cabbage again. Although they have been an empire in the past, the Sto Plains currently exist as

16380-443: The same energy expenditure. This is why most Discworld wizards store magic in a staff, which is a sort of capacitor for magical energy. On the Discworld, where magic has more in common with particle physics than Houdini , high-level background magic (most likely a reference to real-world background radiation ) occurs when a very powerful spell hits, creating myriad sub-astral particles that severely distort local reality. Building

16520-440: The same way that the absence of heat is described as "coldness". Magic warps reality in much the same way as the real universe's gravity warps its space-time. The act of performing magic is, essentially, telling the universe what form it must take, in terms that the universe cannot ignore. This is very draining to magic users, due to Discworld science's Law of Conservation of Reality, which states that magic and mundane methods require

16660-499: The satiric grotesque. Shit plays a fundamental role in satire because it symbolizes death , the turd being "the ultimate dead object". The satirical comparison of individuals or institutions with human excrement , exposes their "inherent inertness, corruption and dead-likeness". The ritual clowns of clown societies , like among the Pueblo Indians , have ceremonies with filth-eating . In other cultures, sin-eating

16800-419: The sky which might otherwise destroy the Disc. These stunts do not affect the Disc's population, other than to induce severe seasickness on anyone who happens to be looking at the night sky at that time. A'Tuin has been known to do more complex rolls and corkscrews, but these are rarer. This is similar to real-world sea turtles' habit of rolling over with their shell down to protect themselves from sharks. Due to

16940-489: The social code of the upper classes. Comedy in general accepts the rules of the social game, while satire subverts them. Another analysis of satire is the spectrum of his possible tones : wit , ridicule , irony , sarcasm , cynicism , the sardonic and invective . The type of humour that deals with creating laughter at the expense of the person telling the joke is called reflexive humour. Reflexive humour can take place at dual levels of directing humour at self or at

17080-403: The start of the series, but the description of their diameter is increased to at least 80 miles (130 km) later in the chronicles. The moon is slightly closer to the Disc than the sun. One half is covered with silvery glowing plants, which feed the lunar dragons. The other half is burnt black by the sun. The moon rotates and completes a full revolution in about a month; the full moon occurs when

17220-469: The sun), and Scandinavia – the Hublanders share many features with Vikings . Polar bears are renamed "Hubland bears", while the Disc's equivalent of the aurora borealis (described as being produced by the Disc's magical field, rather than by magnetism) is known as the "Aurora Coriolis". The areas closer to the Rim are warmer and tropical, since the Disc's sun passes closer to them in its orbit. At

17360-404: The teaching profession themselves, or become governesses . Sto Lat, ruled by Queen Kelirehenna , is located about 20 miles (32 km) from Ankh-Morpork. According to the books, Sto Lat is a sizable walled town in the Sto Plains, although eclipsed enormously both in size and influence by the neighbouring city of Ankh-Morpork . Sto Lat is the nearest major city to Ankh-Morpork (approximately

17500-429: The term soon escaped from the original narrow definition. Robert Elliott writes: As soon as a noun enters the domain of metaphor, as one modern scholar has pointed out, it clamours for extension; and satura (which had had no verbal, adverbial, or adjectival forms) was immediately broadened by appropriation from the Greek word for "satyr" (satyros) and its derivatives. The odd result is that the English "satire" comes from

17640-516: The terms cynicism and parody were used. Modern critics call the Greek playwright Aristophanes one of the best known early satirists: his plays are known for their critical political and societal commentary , particularly for the political satire by which he criticized the powerful Cleon (as in The Knights ). He is also notable for the persecution he underwent. Aristophanes' plays turned upon images of filth and disease. His bawdy style

17780-439: The time with learning things." The school resembles a traditional English independent girls' school, with an academic curriculum and heavy emphasis on respectable and decent behaviour. Students at the school do not seem to be preparing for any particular profession. Susan Sto Helit describes it as "an education in, well, education" ( Hogfather ). It appears that those students who do not marry upon leaving school generally go into

17920-413: The university, as well as any fads or trends – most notably in Soul Music . When roused into action he can be very enthusiastic and violent, and is a part-time Watch Special Constable – on the proviso that he not use magic in the course of his duties. He and Archchancellor Ridcully have been friends since their first days at the university. Their friendship is tested in Unseen Academicals , when

18060-427: The very things the satirist wishes to question. Satire is found in many artistic forms of expression, including internet memes, literature, plays, commentary, music , film and television shows, and media such as lyrics. The word satire comes from the Latin word satur and the subsequent phrase lanx satura . Satur meant "full", but the juxtaposition with lanx shifted the meaning to "miscellany or medley":

18200-478: The volcanic geological processes on Discworld. When struck (such as with Old Tom), instead of producing a sound it briefly silences anything around it. Another is fingles, insinuated in Eric to be an important part of human psychology. Their absence, according to the Creator, can cause psychological problems. "On the surface they were all right, but deep down they knew something was missing", as he put it, referring to

18340-543: The way it is called in Chinese, goes back at least to Confucius , being mentioned in the Book of Odes (Shijing 詩經). It meant "to criticize by means of an ode". In the pre-Qin era it was also common for schools of thought to clarify their views through the use of short explanatory anecdotes, also called yuyan (寓言), translated as "entrusted words". These yuyan usually were brimming with satirical content. The Daoist text Zhuangzi

18480-461: The words or position of his opponent in order to jeopardize their opponent's reputation and/or power. Jonathan Swift has been established as an author who "borrowed heavily from Juvenal's techniques in [his critique] of contemporary English society". In the history of theatre there has always been a conflict between engagement and disengagement on politics and relevant issue, between satire and grotesque on one side, and jest with teasing on

18620-406: The work Reynard the Fox , written by Willem die Madoc maecte, and its translations were a popular work that satirized the class system at the time. Representing the various classes as certain anthropomorphic animals. As example, the lion in the story represents the nobility, which is portrayed as being weak and without character, but very greedy. Versions of Reynard the Fox were also popular well into

18760-901: The writings of the Roman satirist Juvenal (late first century – early second century AD), is more contemptuous and abrasive than the Horatian. Juvenal disagreed with the opinions of the public figures and institutions of the Republic and actively attacked them through his literature. "He utilized the satirical tools of exaggeration and parody to make his targets appear monstrous and incompetent". Juvenal's satire follows this same pattern of abrasively ridiculing societal structures. Juvenal also, unlike Horace, attacked public officials and governmental organizations through his satires, regarding their opinions as not just wrong, but evil. Following in this tradition, Juvenalian satire addresses perceived social evil through scorn, outrage, and savage ridicule. This form

18900-523: The young Sam Vimes ( Night Watch ). Quirm is the location of the Quirm College for Young Ladies (formerly attended by Susan Sto Helit ) and the birthplace of Leonard of Quirm (the Disc's Leonardo da Vinci ). It is a quiet and peaceful town, and for this reason is a popular holiday destination. It is also where Morporkians go when they retire (including Lord Vetinari 's aunt, Lady Roberta Meserole). In this regard, it relates to Ankh-Morpork as Eastbourne relates to London, or possibly as Spain relates to

19040-566: Was adopted by Greek dramatist-comedian Menander . His early play Drunkenness contains an attack on the politician Callimedon . The oldest form of satire still in use is the Menippean satire by Menippus of Gadara . His own writings are lost. Examples from his admirers and imitators mix seriousness and mockery in dialogues and present parodies before a background of diatribe . As in the case of Aristophanes plays, menippean satire turned upon images of filth and disease. Satire, or fengci (諷刺)

19180-615: Was an Arabian Nights tale called "Ali with the Large Member". In the 10th century, the writer Tha'alibi recorded satirical poetry written by the Arabic poets As-Salami and Abu Dulaf, with As-Salami praising Abu Dulaf's wide breadth of knowledge and then mocking his ability in all these subjects, and with Abu Dulaf responding back and satirizing As-Salami in return. An example of Arabic political satire included another 10th-century poet Jarir satirizing Farazdaq as "a transgressor of

19320-458: Was considered "unchristian" and ignored, except for the moral satire , which mocked misbehaviour in Christian terms. Examples are Livre des Manières by Étienne de Fougères  [ fr ] (~1178), and some of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales . Sometimes epic poetry (epos) was mocked, and even feudal society, but there was hardly a general interest in the genre. In the High Middle Ages

19460-443: Was well aware that, in treating of new themes in his prose works, he would have to employ a vocabulary of a nature more familiar in hija , satirical poetry." For example, in one of his zoological works, he satirized the preference for longer human penis size , writing: "If the length of the penis were a sign of honor, then the mule would belong to the (honorable tribe of) Quraysh ". Another satirical story based on this preference

19600-456: Was written 'satyre.' The word satire derives from satura , and its origin was not influenced by the Greek mythological figure of the satyr . In the 17th century, philologist Isaac Casaubon was the first to dispute the etymology of satire from satyr, contrary to the belief up to that time. The rules of satire are such that it must do more than make you laugh. No matter how amusing it is, it doesn't count unless you find yourself wincing

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