Early Modern Satire and the Bishops' Order of 1599

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Date
2005-07-07Author
Herek, Bryan
Advisor
Grossman, Marshall
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The 1599 Bishops' Order prohibiting the publication of satire confirms satire's vigor in provoking re-evaluations of beliefs and values. The popularity of satire prior to and following the ban suggests that it served a social purpose. I argue that satire utilized classical models to transgress the limits of Christian exemplarity thus signaling a shift to an analytical approach to investigating and evaluating social/moral performance.