Satire

10 works

10 works of Satire in the Western literary canon — ranked by Gröblé, with difficulty, length, and influence at a glance.

Satire, Ranked

According to Groblé

  1. 14Gargantua and Pantagruel1532François RabelaisModerate·Epic·1,104 pagesInfluence40Popularity26RenaissanceSatireFrench
  2. 49Candide1759VoltaireEasy·Quick·155 pagesInfluence72Popularity86EnlightenmentSatireFrench
  3. 87The Satyricon~65PetroniusModerate·Quick·208 pagesInfluence35Popularity8Ancient RomeSatireLatin
  4. 98Vanity Fair1847William Makepeace ThackerayEasy·Epic·912 pagesInfluence42Popularity64The Age of the NovelSatireEnglish
  5. 101Praise of Folly1511ErasmusModerate·Quick·188 pagesInfluence40Popularity33RenaissanceSatireLatin
  6. 132Dead Souls1842Nikolai GogolModerate·Long·464 pagesInfluence55Popularity46RomanticismSatireRussian
  7. 142Troilus and Cressida~1602William ShakespeareGrueling·Quick·186 pagesInfluence18Popularity17ShakespeareSatireEnglish
  8. 168Gulliver’s Travels1726Jonathan SwiftModerate·Medium·336 pagesInfluence73Popularity84EnlightenmentSatireEnglish
  9. The Rape of the Lock1714Alexander Pope—·Quick·42 pagesInfluence—Popularity—PoetsSatireEnglish
  10. Selected Poems1697John Dryden—·Long·500 pagesInfluence—Popularity—PoetsSatireEnglish