SATIRE
The Basics
Satire can be:
•Verbal
•Written
•Visual
Satirical Techniques
• There are four main satirical
techniques used to make a
comment or criticism about
a particular subject or
character.
Exaggeration:
• To enlarge, increase, or represent something
beyond normal bounds so that it becomes
ridiculous and its faults can be seen.
• Caricature is the exaggeration of a physical
feature or trait.
• Burlesque is the ridiculous exaggeration of
language.
Incongruity:
• To present things that are
out of place or are absurd
in relation to their
surroundings.
Steve Jobs
demonstrates
how the iPad
was created.
Parody:
• To imitate the techniques and/or style of
some person, place, or thing in order to
ridicule the original.
• For parody to be successful, the reader must
be familiar with the original subject that is
being ridiculed.
Reversal:
• To present the opposite of the
normal order. Can focus on:
• the order of events, such as
serving dessert before the main
dish or having breakfast for dinner.
• hierarchical order—for instance,
when a young child makes all the
decisions for a family.
Types of Satire
• Satire can be generally
categorized as either Horatian or
Juvenalian, though any satire
can have elements of both.
Horatian
• Named for the Roman satirist Horace
• Playfully criticizes some social vice through
gentle, mild, and light-hearted humor
• Directs wit, exaggeration, and self-
deprecating humor toward what it identifies
as folly, rather than evil
• The Simpsons is an example of Horatian satire
Juvenalian
• Named after the Roman satirist Juvenal
• More contemptuous and abrasive
• Addresses social evil through scorn, outrage, and
savage ridicule
• Often pessimistic, characterized by irony, sarcasm,
moral indignation and personal invective, with less
emphasis on humor
• 1984 can be characterized as a Juvenalian satire