Satire: An Overview

Satire: Definitions “Satire is like a mirror in which [a man] sees everyone’s face but [his] own.” ~Jonathan Swift Satire is a literary genre that uses irony, wit and sometimes sarcasm, to expose humanity’s foibles giving impetus to changes through ridicule. The author of a satire reduces the vaunted worth of something to its real- decidedly lower- worth.

Characteristics of Satire SATIRE IS NOT COMEDY, which just seeks to entertain or amuse. Satire, while implicitly humorous, has a moral purpose. 1. Moral lesson 2. Funny 3. Shared community standard of correct behavior (which begets the humor!)

Characteristics of Satire 4. Implied concept of true correct moral behavior 5. Topical to the reader 6. Subtle or overt 7. Attacks a target, as well as those who believe with the target. **The goal of satire is not just to abuse, but rather, to provoke change or reform.

Characteristics of Satire At the base of every great satire is a hardy sense of moral outrage (plus a shared set of community standards.) **When reading satire, the audience must ask, “what is the writer’s definition of correct behavior?”

Satire and the triangle Speaker: Is it the author or persona/mask? Audience: Does it share morals with the speaker? Subject: What is the moral under attack?

Types of Satire DIRECT SATIRE ~First-person narrator ~Speaks to audience or another person (adversarial) 1. HORATIAN: -mocks human foibles with a witty tone 2. JUVENALIAN: -Denounces human vice and error in dignified or solemn tones.

Traditional Techniques in Satire: Invective: very abusive language (non ironical), swearing and name calling directed against a person or cause. This is the least inventive tool. A long invective is called a DIATRIBE.

Traditional Techniques in Satire: Caricature: Exaggerating, for comic effect, ONE particular characteristic of the target.

Traditional Techniques in Satire: Irony- a stylistic device of speech in which the real meaning of the words is different from (and opposite to) the literal meaning. Irony, unlike sarcasm, tends to be ambiguous, bringing two contrasting meanings into play. Often, irony works by an incongruity between an action or a proposal and the moral words used to describe it. Irony becomes satiric when the real meaning appears to contradict the surface meaning (think: A Modest Proposal).

Traditional Techniques in Satire: Parody-refers to a style that deliberately ridicules another style. The best parody writers possess the degree of skill as the art form they parody.

Traditional Techniques in Satire: Reductio ad absurdum- (meaning: reduction to the absurd or reduction to the impossible) The author agrees with the basic attitudes he wishes to satirize yet, through subtle wit, attacks the unproven premise or syllogism, OR reduces the logic of the speaker to its most basic forms, extrapolates the example to absurd extremes. Swift’s A Modest Proposal is a great example (skinning children in the name of boots…)  

Traditional Techniques in Satire: This handy fallacious technique of disputation can be effective in making any logical argument appear ridiculous, when it may not be, by stretching it to an extreme which goes far beyond the body or intent or scope of the argument.  Example 1: A. In America, citizens have the right to bear arms. B. Oh, so it's OK with you for hundreds of innocent kids to be killed each year with unregistered handguns? Example 2: A. Everyone in a free country ought to be able to live according to their own religious beliefs. B. Oh, so it's OK for witches to dig up bodies to cut out gall bladders for ingredients for their magic potions? From: http://maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com/ archives/2130-Fallacy-of-the-Week- Reductio-ad-Absurdum.html

Tricks of Satire 1. SET UP A TARGET- the attackable conduct 2. DISTORT THE TARGET- in order to distort the target so that the audience still sees the “original” but so the distortions are funny.

Tricks of Satire 3. LAMPOON THE DISTORTED TARGET- using “weapons of satire,” begin an unrelenting attack (lampoon to target!). Such weapons include: a. rude, invective assault b. overt physical humor c. subtle attacks on language and beliefs

Tricks of Satire The aim, here, is to deliver an unrelenting attack on the target that the audience can laugh at, so that the audience’s shared response, its laughter, can effectively deal with the behavior that the satirist wishes to attack.

Tricks of Satire PUSH TO THE EDGE- get to the irony- satiric irony, people (the audience) might be reluctant to accept. They might have a natural need to counter or neutralize the satire. Some of the ways an audiences neutralizes: a. The literal read: dismiss the satire as absurd b. Reject it because it is too rude c. Reject it because it is “unfair,” not true to life d. Reject it because it doesn’t respond to the ironies

Final questions How do we measure the effectiveness of a satire? Well, ask yourself: does it provoke its audience? Does the audience change as a result?