An Introduction to Satire

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An Introduction to Satire

• Another way to persuade

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Using humor to persuade

• Beyond arguing, there are other ways to write
  persuasively. For example
• Satire a manner of writing that mixes a
  critical attitude with wit and humor in an effort
  to improve mankind and human institutions.

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What is a satire?

• A literary work that ridicules its subject
  through the use of techniques such as
  exaggeration, reversal, incongruity, and/or
  parody in order to make a comment or criticism
  about it.

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The necessary ingredients

• HumorSatire is funny!
• Criticism, either general criticism of humanity
  or human nature or specific criticism of an
  individual or group.
• Some kind of moral voice simply mocking or
  criticism is not satire.

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When someone creates a satire, it is

• Ironic/Sarcastic
• Either good natured criticism (Horatian after
  Horace) or bitterly cynical denunciation
  (Juvenalian after Juvenal)
• Always opposed to pretense, affectation, and
  hypocrisy
• More than a little bit prone to references to
  things society finds taboo or disgusting (bodily
  functions, sexuality, etc.)

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Examples of Satire in Pop Culture
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Contemporary Examples

• Our society is saturated with satire.
• For next time, bring in examples of satire for
  extra credit.
• Must be appropriate for school!
• Be sure to think about what the piece is
  satirizing and be prepared to share next time
• .
• If you finish the PowerPoint early, you can get
  started!

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Satire Vocabulary

• Caricature An exaggerated portrayal of the
  weaknesses, frailties, or humorous aspects of an
  individual or group.

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• Caricatures of the presidential candidates by
  Saturday Night Live cast members in 03 year
  actually changed the way that the candidates
  performed in public.

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Satire Vocabulary

• Overstatement exaggeration making to seem more
  important than it really is.
• Understatement opposite of exaggeration a
  statement that expresses a fact too weakly or
  less emphatically than it should
• Zoolander and the fashion world Weird
  Als Amish Paradise

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Satire Vocabulary

• Verbal Irony a writer says one thing and means
  another
• Dramatic Irony When the reader or audience knows
  something the character does not.

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Four Techniques of Satire

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

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Four Techniques of Satire

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

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Four Techniques of Satire

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

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Four Techniques of Satire

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

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Example of Satire A Modest Proposal

• Written in 1729 by Jonathan Swift.
• He believed England was exploiting Ireland.
• Many Irishmen worked farms owned by Englishmen
  who charged high rentsso high that the Irish
  were frequently unable to pay them.
• Consequently, many Irish farming families lived
  on the edge of starvation.

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A Modest Proposal

• In A Modest Proposal, Swift satirizes the
  English landlords with outrageous humor,
  proposing that Irish infants be sold as food at
  age one, when they are plump and healthy, to give
  the Irish a new source of income and the English
  a new food product to bolster their economy and
  eliminate a social problem.

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A Modest Proposal excerpts

• I have been told by a knowledgeable American that
  a year-old-infant is a most delicious nourishing
  and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted,
  baked, or boiled. . . . Therefore, I suggest
  that of the 120,000 new infants of poor parents,
  20,000 be reserved for breeding and the rest be
  sold to people of quality.

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Think about this

• Why is A Modest Proposal an effective satire?
• Next class, we will be reading A Modest
  Proposal.