This course surveys what has been referred to as the ‘golden age of satire’, a period that witnessed a flourishing of satirical poetry, prose, drama, and illustration as powerful modes of critique. In the process of analyzing works by Swift, Pope, Montagu, Gay, Hogarth, and others, this course will explore concerns such as the rise of print culture, the legitimacy of satire, the gendering of satire, the role of criticism, the limits of humour, censorship, and the threat of seditious libel.