The Book of Job as Proto-Satire

Drawing on the work of literary critics such as Northrup Frye and Douglas Muecke, this lecture argues that the Book of Job exhibits many of the characteristic features of satire: an object of attack, ironies, parody, distortions, and ridicule, along with extensive wordplay and ambiguity. The presentation will focus first on how the prologue (Job 1-2) establishes the necessary conditions for a satire, and then highlight a few of the satirical elements throughout the rest of the book.