Satire and Hypocrisy: Literary Criticism of Lewis’ The Monk

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Satire and Hypocrisy: Literary Criticism of Lewis’ The Monk

In her essay "Satire in The Monk: Exposure and Reformation", Campbell strives to portray Matthew Lewis' The Monk as a work that is full of and dependent upon satire, yet marks a significant departure from the tradition thereof. Campbell asserts that satire "forcibly exposes an essential quality of an institution, class, etc., which individuals associated with the ridiculed body have concealed either through ignorance, hypocrisy, or affectation." Although satire may be useful in exposing these hypocrisies and false beliefs, it offers no alternatives to these beliefs and is hence a destructive force despite the satirist's pretensions to social reform. Satire, she argues, "penetrates inwards until it has destroyed its object." The true satirist, therefore, seeks only to "establish his moral superiority over his readers." Campbell does not view Lewis in this light, but rather as a satirist of satire operating within the genre of satire, deconstructing the value of satire through satire itself as satire deconstructs the value...

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