Definition of Satire
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians, are often the subject of satire, but satirists can take... read full definition
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians, are often the subject of... read full definition
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians... read full definition
Part 1, Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Beautiful and Sublime:
In Part 1, Chapter 2, The Underground Man introduces the concept of the "beautiful and sublime," alluding to—and lightly satirizing—a philosophical idea that was often referenced in cultured circles in 19th-century Russia (and beyond):
[...] at the precise moment that I was most capable of becoming conscious of the subtleties of everything that was “beautiful and sublime,” as we used to say at one time, [...I] instead did such unseemly things [...]. The more conscious I was of what was good, of everything “beautiful and sublime,” the more deeply I sank into the morass, and the more capable I was of becoming entirely bogged down in it.