SATIRE AND HUMOR JUST ANOTHER ASPECT OF TONE…BUT EVEN MORE FUN! 1

Active/Initial Reading: Have a conversation with difficult text Talk back to the text, ask questions of the speaker! These are likely to be places where you want to say: REALLY, do you honestly think this is a good idea? Do you really think this way? Are you stupid? Pay attention to the speaker and note places where he/she seems just a little “off,” or places where his/her logic seems fuzzy. But remember, don’t color the text with your own feelings! (remember Shaw) This should lead you to note incongruent thinking: Note places where what is being described doesn’t fit with the speaker’s attitude toward it. This should lead you to potential satire. 2

SATIRE Definition: the ridicule of any subject in order to lower it in the reader’s esteem. 3

Some common satirical techniques: 1) Exaggeration: To enlarge, increase or represent something beyond normal bounds so that it becomes ridiculous and its faults can be seen. Caricature: Burlesque: example: a character who is portrayed as uneducated and foolish, all of a sudden starts using very sophisticated diction Hyperbole: “to wait an eternity”; “I’ll love you until the seas go dry.” Litotes: “not bad” = good 4

A few more Satirical techniques 2) Incongruity: To present things that are out of place or are absurd in relation to its surroundings. Oxymoron: jumbo shrimp, cruel kindness Metaphor: “Success is a bastard as it has many fathers, and failure is an orphan, with no takers.” Irony: Sarcasm: From the Greek meaning “to tear flesh,” /blood-in-the-water---bill-o-reilly-s-racial-insensitivity 5

And yet, some more… Parody: To imitate the techniques or style of some person, place or thing in order to ridicule the original. For parody to be successful, the reader must know the original text! Reversal: To present the opposite of the normal order. Reversal can focus on the order of events (serving dessert first) or can focus on hierarchical order (a child making all the decisions in a family) Wit: Intellectually amusing language that surprises and makes a pointed statement Juxtaposition: placing dissimilar items, ideas, descriptions together or side by side for comparison and contrast Allusion: Satirists often rely on our knowledge of historical and political allusions. 6

The Persona Persona: The term derives from Greek, meaning “mask,” and is defined as: The persona created by a satirist is often naïve and rarely expresses the beliefs of the writer. It is this discrepancy between writer and speaker, between logical and illogical thought, that creates the incongruent thinking typical of satire. 7

True satire is always about more than laughs Satire at its heart is concerned with ethical reform. It attacks those institutions or individuals the satirist deems corrupt. It seeks a shoring up of its audience’s standards. In general, it attacks types—the fool, the boor, the adulterer, the proud—rather than specific persons. 8

Two Kinds of Satire Horatian A gentle, sympathetic form of satire Aims to correct with sympathetic laughter Tends to ask the audience to laugh at themselves as much as at the characters It “holds up a mirror” so readers see themselves and their world honestly. Juvenalian A more harsh, bitter form of satire. The subject is subjected to contempt. Sees the vices of the world as intolerable. Uses large doses of sarcasm and irony. Audience is asked to respond with indignation. 9

SARCASM AND IRONY: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? Wait a minute… 10

Sarcasm: When the speaker appears to be praising something, but is actually insulting it. 11

Expressions in which an attitude is conveyed by its opposite are considered ironic. Verbal Irony: “A great day for a walk.” Situational Irony: 12

Close reading reminders Annotate those things that strike you as surprising, significant, or that raise questions as you read. Be on the look out for incongruity—details, descriptions, reactions that don’t fit what is actually being described Be on the look out for the elements of analysis and in particular those devices of satire: hyperbole, understatement, sarcasm, and irony Look for patterns in the things you’ve noticed—look for repetitions, contradictions, similarities. Ask questions about those patterns—especially how and why 13

HUMOR A personal favorite 14

Don’t forget—humor is just another function of tone! So that means… D iction I magery D etails L anguage S yntax 15

Elements particular to humor Object of laughter 16

Elements of humor Incongruity (what violates expectations) Safety and goodwill

Elements of humor Flashes of insight/spontaneity