The English author and publisher Charles A. Knight wonders whether to see satire in the eighteen century as the ideological tool of nationalism or as a satiric fantasy:
“Satire addresses history through the literary imagination and this combination of actuality and fantasy gives satiric nationalism conflicting potential functions. The satiric imagination may assemble the diverse features of nationalism, or it may question the unreal connections that nations assert. The satiric nationalism of the eighteen century exploits the vagueness of its terms. It considers a socio-political model with a literary form open to attack, but powerful in obtaining emotions. In its simple form satiric nationalism attacks other countries by manipulating local stereotypes. However, complex nationalism emerges when satire insists on the priority of universal human nature over the eccentricities of national character and interest. Complex satires explore conflicts and connections between local culture and universal humanity. The yoking of imaginative and historical discourses in satire is applied to nationalistic purposes that are questioned in value and changeable in meaning.”
