Meaning of menippea | Babel Free

Definitions

Menippean satire.

uncountable

Examples

“A consequence of this universalism is the appearance in the menippea of what Bakhtin calls the three-planed construction of earth, Olympus, and the nether world.”

“Typical for the menippea is syncrisis (that is, juxtaposition) of precisely such stripped-down "ultimate positions in the world."”

“The entire medieval development of the menippea is permeated with elements of local carnival folklore and reflects the specific features characteristic of various periods in the Middle Ages.”

“The Menippea did not lose its impact in the chaotic centuries that followed the fall of Rome.”

“Her awareness of the Menippea is presented in terms of (descriptive) content analysis and comparison, and she neglects the interaction of the satire with its audience.”

“The Menippean satire—or Menippea— takes its name from the philosopher Menippus of Gadara (third century BC) to identify a particular kind (or genre) of writing that was to evolve during the Classical period through the work of Varro (first century BC) and various other writers and, in Bakhtin's words "in its ancient phase culminates in De Consolatione Philosophy of Boethius. Nevertheless, despite its ancient origins Bakhtin employs the principle of the Menippea as a means of identifying and discussing the work of later writers -- specifically Dostoevsky.”

CEFR level