menippea

M3E1N1I1P3P3E1A1

noun

Menippean satire.

Scrabble 14

Meanings

menippea1

nounmenippea (uncountable)
  1. alternativeuncountableAlternative form of Menippea.

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

    2004, David Sandner, Fantastic Literature: A Critical Reader, →ISBN, page 120
    2 more 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.

    1992, Thomas Jemielity, Satire and the Hebrew Prophets, →ISBN, page 65

    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.

    2009, Harold Bloom, Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky, →ISBN, page 48

Menippea2

nounMenippea (uncountable)
  1. uncountableMenippean satire.

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

    1993, José I. Suárez, The Carnival Stage: Vicentine Comedy Within the Serio-comic Mode, →ISBN
    2 more examples

    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.

    2015, Eric McLuhan, Cynic Satire, →ISBN, page 38

    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.

    2017, Paul N. Reinsch, B. Lynn Whitfield, Robert G. Weiner, Python beyond Python: Critical Engagements with Culture, →ISBN, page 100

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

menippea. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/menippea

MLA

“menippea.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/menippea. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “menippea,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/menippea.

Source: menippea on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.