The Satires are a collection of sixteen satirical poems written by Juvenal, divided into 5 books. They are composed in dactylic hexameter. Roman Satura was a literary genre that was not only clever but humorous. The author, Juvenal, writes in a tone ranging from irony to anger.
Juvenal used the satirical format to disapprove the actions and principles of his contemporaries. In doing so, he provided insight into value systems and interrogations pertaining to morality rather than the realisms of Roman life. The author does not employ the use of vulgarity quite frequently but includes vivid and lurid imagery to some extent. Persistent allusions to history and myth are made in order to arrive at a moral conclusion or lesson. The author wrote in complex and elliptical Latin.
The satires provide accounts of perceived threats to Roman society from foreigners, unfaithfulness and the extreme extravagance of their own class. The works of Juvenal are contemporary with the likes other Roman poets like Martial, Tacitus and Catullus.
Book I includes satires I-V. Broadly, the theme is just the critique of corruption of society in Rome and human brutality and foolishness.
Book II is comprised only of Satire VI and is the longest of the sixteen satires. It vehemently criticizes the female sex.
Book III is made up of satires VII-IX. Juvenal returns to the theme of prejudiced economic systems and the criticism of Roman elite in their disinclination to support poets, lawyers and teachers. He denounces the impression that a person's pedigree determines his worth. In satire IX, he derides male homosexuals.
Book IV contains satires X-XII. The themes incorporated in these are inclined towards morality and principles that a person must uphold.
Book V is made up of satires XIII-XVI. The author talks about morality and the importance of compassion for the preservation of human society. In the last satire, he criticizes the advantages that military personnel enjoying over civilians.
