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All of Us Yahoos

Dan Sperrin’s State of Ridicule offers an 800‑page, Roman‑to‑2010s survey of English satire, arguing that satire is fundamentally political and serves as a tool for interpreting power. The book adopts a “longue durée” label but actually traces decade‑by‑decade political events, pairing each with contemporary satirists. Reviewers commend the scholarly depth and meticulous case studies of figures such as Horace, Dryden, and Swift, yet they fault Sperrin for sidelining non‑political satire and for presenting a false binary between politicized and decontextualised humor. The critique underscores the need for a more nuanced, inclusive view of satirical literature.