Satire Review "Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do

generally discover everybody's face but their own“--Jonathan Swift

Methods

Madness

Major players

Satire

• “A literary manner that blends a critical attitude with humor and wit for the purpose of improving human institutions or humanity.” (Holman)

• Satire (n.) - A literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit.

Two major types of satire:

• “Formal" or "direct" satire speaks directly to the reader or to a character in the work;

• “Indirect" satire relies upon the ridiculous behavior of its characters to make its point.

• Satire may be lighthearted and playful or scornful and bitter. The tone depends largely on the particular subject and its author’s intentions.

Four Devices of Satire

Exaggeration: To enlarge, increase, or represent something beyond normal bounds so that it becomes ridiculous and its faults can be seen.

Incongruity: To present things that are out of place or are absurd in relation to their surroundings.

Reversal: To present the opposite of the normal order (e.g., the order of events, hierarchical order).

Parody: To imitate the techniques and/or style of some person, place, or thing.

Exaggeration

• To enlarge, increase, or represent something beyond normal bounds so that it becomes ridiculous and its faults can be seen

• Example: Scary Movie

exaggerates techniques

used in horror films to

scare audiences.

Incongruity

• To present things that are out of place or are absurd in relation to its surroundings.

• Example: A toaster as a time machine in parody of Simpson’s “Sound of Thunder”; Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

• OR

Reversal/ Irony

• To present the opposite of the normal order (can be situational or verbal irony)– sarcasm

• Example: On Family Guy, Stewie acts like an adult.

Parody- Most common today

• To imitate the techniques and/or style of some person, place, or thing

• Example: Weird Al Yankovic songs, Epic Movie, Scary Movie, Date Movie, The Simpsons

More Satiric Devices• Caricature: refers to the technique of

exaggerating for comic and satiric effect one particular feature of the target, to achieve a grotesque or ridiculous effect. Seen more in art than in writing.

• Burlesque - This type of satire is often "lowly" or "non-literary" but takes on a sophisticated manner. For example, to have a king speak like an idiot or a workman speak like a king

Burlesque Device

• Mock Heroic- a form of burlesque satire that mocks heroic language of classics by discussing a less-than-epic subject matter with elevated language: i.e. Pope’s Rape of the Lock

More Satiric Devices

• Invective: describes very abusive, usually non ironical language aimed at a particular target (e.g., a string of curses or name calling). Invective can often be quite funny, but it is the least inventive of the satirist's tools. A lengthy invective is sometimes called a diatribe. The danger of pure invective is that one can quickly get tired of it, since it offers limited opportunity for inventive wit.

More Satiric Devices

• Lampoon: generally refers to a very harsh and personal attack on a very particular recognizable target, focusing on the target's character or appearance.

• Reductio ad absurdum: When the author (speaker) takes the side of the argument he wishes to ridicule by over exaggerating the attitude or assumptions, which thus exposes the foolishness of them. Swift’s favorite technique, it may be hard to spot.

Other Literary Elements in Satire

• Irony (verbal, situational, dramatic)• Hyperbole• Stock characters/ Archetypal • Humor• Sarcasm• Understatement

Origins of Satire

• Juvenalian - Taking its name from the writer Juvenal, Juvenalian satire typically is a harsh attack on its target.

• Horatian - Taking its name from the Roman writer Horace, Horatian satire is identified by its tendency to make the observer or reader laugh. It is marked with wit and is not always a direct attack on its target.

• Menippean -A satirical narrative with many fragments of satire

• I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it. – Voltaire

Examples from The Onion

• See handouts