“Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do

generally discover everybody’s face but their

own.”Jonathan Swift

In comedy appeals are made to the head, not the heart. As an audience

we are expected to see the incongruity of an action, which is an

intellectual process.

Because comedy is a coldly rational appeal, it often lifts us

from the emotional aspects of an appeal, and allows us to examine

an idea more objectively.

Thus comedy is often a good tool for social change.

“Comedy is based on the idea that no man knows what he is, that he cannot see the real mirror image but only sees what he wants to

see.” Brendan Kenny

Good comedy simplifies a character or issue, so that we can see these distortions which make the character or idea foolish in

other’s eyes.

The funniness of a comedy usually consists of a series of incidents

which reveal the fool in situations where he always shows the same

distortions from what is considered the norm. The other

characters contrast these variations from the norm.

Homer Simpson: Nuclear Plant Employee and Dad

• Homer sees himself as an upstanding employee and dad, who is thin and sexy….

• We know however that he is a lazy

employee, and often a horrible father, who could stand to lose

some pounds….

The Comedic Ladder:1. The comedy of ideas:

characters argue about ideas like: politics, religion, sex, marriage;

Use their wit, their clever language to mock their opponent

in an argumentSubtle way to satirize people and institutions like political parties,

churches, government.

• A Modest Proposal by Swift was so shocking that it did a good deal of good by poking fun at peoples insensitivity regarding the starving.

2. Comedy of Manners:Amorous intrigues among the

upper classes. Focus is on witty language, clever speech, insults

and ‘putdowns’ are traded between characters (MAAN).

• Much Ado About Nothing is an excellent example of a comedy of manners.

3. Farce: Plot is full of coincidences,

mistiming, mistaken identities; characters are puppets of fate –

they are twins born to the wrong class, unable to marry,

too poor, too rich.

• An Example of farce would be Three’s Company where mistakes were the sole reason for the humor

4. Low comedy: the lowest rung on the ladder, low comedy consists of dirty jokes, dirty gestures, sex and

elimination. Exaggeration or understatement are the extremes of the humor with a focus on physical,

like long noses, crossed eyes. Slapstick,pratfalls, loud noises, physical mishaps are the humor.

• Southpark would be a prime example of low comedy.

• SATIRE–noun 1.the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.2.a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.3.a literary genre comprising such compositions.

PARODY–noun 1.a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing: his hilarious parody of Hamlet's soliloquy. 2.the genre of literary composition represented by such imitations.3.a burlesque imitation of a musical composition.4.any humorous, satirical, or burlesque imitation, as of a person, event, etc.5.the use in the 16th century of borrowed material in a musical setting of the Mass (parody Mass). 6.a poor or feeble imitation or semblance; travesty: His acting is a parody of his past greatness.

Devices of Satire:

• Sarcasm

• Knaves and fools- in comedy there are no villains and no innocent victims, rather there are rogues and suckers. They often expose one another, but again- they are equally guilty.

• Malapropism- a deliberate mispronunciation of a name or term.

• Invective- harsh abusive language

• Burlesque- ridiculous exaggeration- absurdity

• Travesty- presenting a serious subject in the most simple way or frivolous way.

• Examples of malapropism:

• "This is unparalyzed in the state's history."   Gib Lewis, Texas Speaker of the House

• "And then he [Mike Tyson] will have only channel vision."   Frank Bruno, boxer

• "Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child."   Dan Quayle, Vice President

There are two types of Satire:

• Horatian- light hearted; intended for fun

• Juvenalian- bitter, angry, attacking

There are two styles of satire:

1. Direct- satire is directly stated

2. Indirect- satire is communicated through characters

• Sarchasm : The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

• Note- one trick of satire is to parody a real form. For example, The Onion tries to look like a real newspaper, Gulliver’s Travels tries to mimic a real diary, and “A Modest Proposal” tries to appear as a legitimate leaflet.

• Types of Satire:

• Horatian – critical, but light hearted, often self debasing. (The Simpsons)

• Juvenalian- contemptuous and abrasive, often more offensive than Horatian satire (Family Guy)

• Direct Satire- the speaker is the author himself/ herself (done in first person)- The Daily Show

• Indirect Satire- the speaker is a persona or a character, but not the actual author - The Colbert Report