Lampoon

Lampoon is a virulent attack on a person, institution, or society in prose, verse, or graphic caricature. It is a sharp and funny (or not funny) satire that is malicious and severe. The origin of lampoon is from the French word lampon or lampons “let us drink” and the verb lamper means “to booze,” which suggests excess. The word is attested in 17th-century French. However, it dates back to as early as the 3rd century BCE when Aristophanes lampooned Euripides in Frogs and Socrates in Clouds. The form was popular in English literature during the Restoration and the 18th century when writers such as John Dryden, John Wilkes, Alexander Pope, and Samuel Butler lampooned particular aspects of their times. One of the notable examples of ...