CRITICAL REALISM AND SATIRICAL POETICS IN 20TH-CENTURY ENGLISH LITERATURE

Abstract

This article explores the intricate relationship between critical realism and satirical poetics within 20th-century English literature. It argues that critical realism provides a robust epistemological foundation for understanding the underlying mechanisms of social reality, while satirical poetics offers a crucial aesthetic mode for critiquing and subverting these very structures. By examining key literary works, this study demonstrates how authors employed satire not merely for comedic effect but as a sophisticated tool to expose societal contradictions and ideological biases inherent in their contemporary world. Ultimately, the analysis reveals how this dual approach fostered a literature deeply engaged with both the diagnosis and the imaginative disruption of established norms.