Satire - AP Literature and...

SatireTheuseofmockery,irony,humor,and/orwit toattackorridiculesomethingsuchasaperson,habit,idea,institution,society,orcustom thatis,orisconsideredtobefoolish,flawedorwrong. Theaim ofsatireis,orshouldbe,toimprovehumaninstitutionsand/orhumanity.Satireattemptsthroughhumorandlaughtertoinspire individuals,institutions,andhumankindtoimproveortoencourage itsreaderstoputpressureonindividualsandinstitutionssothattheymaybeimprovedforthebenefitofall.

Satire

• Satiretriestopersuadethereadertobelieveortodosomethingbyshowingtheoppositeviewasabsurd,vicious,orinhumane.Satireispartiallysocomplex,becauseitaddressesmultipleaudiencesatoncewithmultipleintents.

ThreeAudiences

• 1.Thosewhomtheauthor(orartist)believestoalreadybeinagreement.(Theywouldshareinthe“laugh”)

• 2.Thosewhomtheauthor(orartist)wouldliketoridiculefortheiropposingviewpoint.

• 3.Thosewhomtheauthor(orartist)believesmaybepersuadedthroughexposuretothesatiricalwork– tothinkoractashe/shewouldlike.

ThreeIntents oftheSatirist

• 1.Toshowyourselfintelligentandaccomplishedtothoseonyourside.

• 2.Tomakethosewhomyoudisagreewithlookfoolish.

• 3.Topersuadetoyourpointofview,thosewhoareintelligentenoughtounderstandthesatireandrecognizetheridiculous(thereby“swinging”themtoyourside).

TechniquesofSatire

Exaggeration/Hyperbole

• Makingasmallblemishbiggerorahiddenviceorfollylargerinordertomakeitvisibleisoneofthebestwaystopointoutitsexistencetotheaudienceortothetargetitself.Somespecifictypesofexaggerationincludetheoutrageoussuggestionsandproposalswhichoftencharacterizesatiricalpiecesandthewriter’sexaggerationofthecustomarydictionandsyntaxofanindividual,anagency,atext,orapublication.

Exaggeration/Hyperbole

Distortion

• Twistingoremphasizingsomeaspectofacondition,individual,oreventtendstohighlightit.Atypeofdistortionmayincludethejuxtapositionofinappropriateorincongruousideasorthings.

Distortion

Understatement

• Whenthefollyorevilissogreatthatfurtherexaggerationisimpossible,understatementshowsitstrueextent.

Understatement

Innuendo

• Avaluabletoolforthesatiristbecauseitallowshimtoimplicateatargetbyacompletelyindirectattack.Thisisespeciallyusefulwhenthetargetisdangerous,foritisoftenpossibletodenytheinsinuation.

Innuendo

DoubleEntendre

Diction

• Useofsillyorinherentlyfunnywordslike“newt”and“nostril”canenhancesatire.

Diction

Invective/Diatribe/Rant• Aspeechthatcriticizessomeoneorsomethingfluentlyandatalength.Forexample:“Isee.Well,ofcourse,thisisjustthesortofblinkeredphilistinepig-ignoranceI’vecometoexpectfromyounon-creativegarbage.Yousitthereonyourloathsomespottybehindssqueezingblackheads,notcaringatinker’scussforthestrugglingartist.Youexcrement,youwhininghypocriticaltoadieswithyourcolorTVsetsandyourTonyJackling golfclubsandyourbleedingMasonicsecrethandshakes.”(JohnCleeseinMontyPython’s“ArchitectSketch”)

Diatribe/Rant/Invective

Pun/Malapropism

• Anyconstructioncapableofconveyingadoublemeaningislikelytobeemployedinsatire,sincemultiplemeaningsformthebasisofmuchofsatire.

Malapropism

Hehadtouseafiredistinguisher.

Dadsaysthemonsterisjustapigmentofmyimagination.

Isn'tthatanexpensivependulumroundthatman'sneck?

He'sawolfincheapclothing.

MichelangelopaintedtheSixteenthChapel.

Mysisterhasextra-centuryperception.

"Don't"isacontraption.

Ifeellikedancingtheflamingo.

Theuseofanincorrectwordinplaceofawordwithasimilarsound, resulting inanonsensical,oftenhumorous utterance.

Oxymoron

• Expressionscomposedofwordsthatarenotinherentlymutuallyexclusivebutexpressanopinionthatthetwocannotoccurtogether,usuallyforsatiricalintent.Forexample,cruelkindness,businessethics,

ParableandAllegory• Asingleworkcancombineelementsofanallegory,fableandsatire.Forexample,thenovelAnimalFarm byGeorgeOrwellisfulloffarmanimalcharacterswhorepresentRussianhistoricalfigures.ThenovelsatirizesCommunistideasthroughtheeventsandactionsthattheanimalsengageinonthefarm.Thestoryworksasanallegory.Ononelevelitisaboutanimalslivingonafarmbut,onanotherlevel,itisaboutthehistoryofRussianCommunism.Theanimalcharacterswhopossesshumanqualitiesmakethestoryafableandthenovel'suseofexaggerationandridiculemakeitasatire.

Sarcasm

• a sharply ironical taunta sneering or cutting remark