Menippean satire

Menippean satire is a form of satire that mixes prose and verse, blends serious and comic tones, and attacks intellectual pretension rather than specific individuals.

Named after the Greek cynic Menippus, it tends toward encyclopedic scope, piling up learning to mock learning itself.

The form favors ideas over characters—skewering philosophies, institutions, and human folly through digression, parody, and absurdist dialogue.

Classic examples include works by Lucian, Rabelais, Swift, and Voltaire.

Gulliver's Travels is Menippean satire disguised as a travel narrative.