1. An Introduction to Satire
Another way to persuade…

2. What is Satire?
A manner of persuasive writing that mixes a critical attitude with wit and/or humor in an effort to improve mankind and human institutions
Can be used in part of a work or it can be used throughout an entire work

3. What is Satire?
Primarily a literary genre or form, although it can be found in graphic and performing arts
Vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, organizations, governments, and society itself into improvement

4. What is Satire?
Often used to affect political or social change…or to prevent it
On the surface, it appears to make fun of someone or something and is intended to make us laugh.
Below the surface, the author is attacking someone or something that he or she doesn’t agree with.
Uses techniques such as exaggeration, reversal, incongruity, and parody in order to make a comment or to criticize

5. Ingredients of Satire Humor - Satire is funny!
Criticism - either general criticism of humanity or human nature or specific criticism of an individual or group
Some kind of moral voice – intent is to suggest an improvement or change_simply mocking or criticism is not “satire”

6. Styles of Satire
Juvenalian or Egocentric: A harsh, tragic form of satire that viciously attacks human degeneracy and reflects little or no confidence that human beings can change either evil ways.
Horation or Sociocentric: A mild, comedic form of satire that offers an ideal of right conduct against which to measure its criticism. It optimistically suggests human beings can improve their conduct and amend their ways.

7. Manner of Satirical Address
Direct, first-person: either to the audience or to a listener mentioned within a piece of work
EX: Alexander Pope’s Moral Essays
Indirect: usually embedded in the form of a fictional narrative
EX: Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels

8. Faces of Satire in Pop Culture
What is the subject of each piece of satire?
What comment is being made?

9. Faces of Satire in Pop Culture

10. Exaggeration / Hyperbole Incongruity Reversal Parody
Techniques of Satire
Exaggeration / Hyperbole
Incongruity
Reversal
Parody

11. Techniques of Satire
Exaggeration/Hyperbole – to enlarge, increase, or represent something beyond normal bounds so that it becomes ridiculous and its faults can be seen
OVERSTATEMENT
UNDERSTATEMENT
CHARACITURE
BURLESQUE

12. EXAGGERATION / HYPERBOLE
Overstatement: exaggeration: making to seem more important than it really is.
EX. “I’ve told you a million times!”
Understatement: opposite of overstatement; a statement that expresses a fact too weakly or less emphatically than it should
EX. It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain. —J.D Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

13. EXAGGERATION / HYPERBOLE
Caricature: an exaggerated portrayal of the weaknesses, frailties, or humorous aspects of an individual or group

14. EXAGGERATION / HYPERBOLE
Burlesque - a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
These were popular from the 1860s to the 1940s, often in cabarets and clubs, as well as theatres, and featured bawdy comedy.
Caricatures of the presidential candidates by Saturday Night Live cast members in ‘03 year actually changed the way that the candidates performed in public.

15. Techniques of Satire
Incongruity - to present things that are out of place or are absurd in relation to its surroundings
OXYMORON
METAPHOR
JUXTAPOSITION
IRONY

16. INCONGRUITY
Oxymoron - a figure of speech by which a locution, a peculiarity of phrasing, produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect
EX. sweet sorrow, roaring silence, mute sound
Metaphor - implicit comparison: to describe somebody or something using a word or phrase that is not meant literally but by means of a vivid comparison
EX. He is a snake.

17. INCONGRUITY
Juxtaposition - the placement of two concepts, characters, things, events, ideas, phrases, settings or words side by side in order to draw a contrast, create suspense, bring about a rhetorical effect, compare, or as a tool for character development
EX. A very poor woman gives birth to twins and dies immediately after. The sons get separated at birth. While one son finds himself adopted into a wealthy factory owner's house, the other is a street child who turns into a petty thief. The film story traces their journey through life. At a crucial moment, the son who is a petty thief corners the other son in a dark alley and mugs him.

18. INCONGRUITY
Irony – words are used to show the opposite of the actual meaning
Verbal – where what you say is different than what you mean (not all verbal irony is sarcasm and not all sarcasm is verbal irony)
Situational – compares what is expected to happen with what actually does happen
(O. Henry_ The Gift of the Magi)
Dramatic - uses a narrative to provide the audience more information about the story than the character knows
(horror movies)

19. INCONGRUITY - Verbal Irony
Pun – (paronomasia): a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical* effect
*of, relating to, or concerned with the art of speaking or writing formally and effectively especially as a way to persuade or influence people
EX: Energizer Bunny Arrested - Charged with Battery
EX: Where do you find giant snails? On the ends of giants’ fingers.

20. INCONGRUITY - Verbal Irony
Double Entendre – a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways: one interpretation is rather obvious whereas the other is more subtle (ambiguity)
EX: Perhaps because it is not offensive to those who do not recognize it, innuendo is often used in sitcoms and other comedy considered suitable for children, who may enjoy the comedy while being oblivious to its second meaning.
“I DON’T GET IT!”

21. Techniques of Satire
Reversal - To present the opposite of the normal order. Reversal can focus on the order of events, such as serving dessert before the main dish or having breakfast for dinner. Additionally, reversal can focus on hierarchical order—for instance, when a young child makes all the decisions for a family or when an administrative assistant dictates what the president decides and does.

22. Techniques of Satire
Parody - to imitate the techniques and/or style of some person, place, or thing in order to ridicule or mock the original in a humorous way, lacking any intent to do harm. Also called a spoof, the intent of a parody is to have fun
For parody to be successful, the reader must know the original text that is being ridiculed.
Ex. Songs of Weird Al Yankovic

23. Sarcasm is a relative of Satire
Sarcasm – a form of wit usually containing a sharp, bitter, or cutting expression or remark in which ridicule or mockery is used harshly, often crudely and contemptuously, for destructive purposes - though it may contain humor while getting its point across
EX. “I never forget a face, but in your case I’ll be glad to make an exception.”
Groucho Marx
Ex. “I’m not young enough to know everything.” Oscar Wilde

24. Sarcasm is a relative of Satire
The distinctive quality of sarcasm is present in the spoken word and manifested chiefly by vocal inflections.
It may be used in an indirect manner and have the form of irony.
EX. "What a fine musician you turned out to be!"
It may be used in the form of a direct statement with no irony.
EX. “You couldn't play one piece correctly if you had two assistants.”

25. What’s the Difference?
Any comment could be considered sarcastic in the correct context.
Satire usually implies the use of sarcasm for censorious (severely critical) purposes and is often directed at public figures or institutions, conventional behavior, political situations, etc.
A piece of satire will have an underlying lesson or unwritten moral.

26. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Although satire, sarcasm, and parody poke fun at people, their difference is a subtle one and lies mainly in the motivation behind the jests and jibes.
In contrast to both parody and sarcasm, the intent behind satire is to make fun of people’s follies and foibles in the hope of producing a change in their behavior. The purpose of satire is to produce better people – not simply to crack a joke or cause pain.
The satirist trusts in the basic worth of his target and believes that with a little prodding that target can become a better person, organization, government, or entire society

27. STOP HERE!
Please do not continue through the powerpoint. We will discuss the remaining information only if there is time after 1984.

28. Example of Satire: “A Modest Proposal”
Written in 1729 by Jonathan Swift.
The subtitle was “For Preventing The Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being A burden to Their Parents or Country, and For Making Them Beneficial to The Public”
He believed England was exploiting Ireland.
Many Irishmen worked farms owned by Englishmen who charged high rents–so high that the Irish were frequently unable to pay them.
Consequently, many Irish farming families lived on the edge of starvation.

29. “A Modest Proposal”
In “A Modest Proposal,” Swift satirizes the English landlords with outrageous humor, proposing that Irish infants be sold as food at age one, when they are plump and healthy, to give the Irish a new source of income and the English a new food product to bolster their economy and eliminate a social problem.
Swift also satirizes the Irish themselves in his essay, for too many of them had accepted abuse stoically rather than speaking out.

30. “A Modest Proposal” excerpts
Of course, a mother can feed her child for one year with breast milk. But after that, she must beg food for the child. However, I [the writer of the essay] have a modest proposal to solve this problem. Here it is:  
I have been told by a knowledgeable American that a year-old-infant is a “most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled ” Therefore, I suggest that of the 120,000 new infants of poor parents, 20,000 be reserved for breeding and the rest be sold to people of quality.   

31. “A Modest Proposal” excerpts
The skin from babies can be used to make gloves for women and boots for men.  
Women will take excellent care of their newly born infants, for they will want their babies to be plump and healthy when it comes time to sell them.  
Men would become as fond of their wives, during the time of their pregnancy, as they are now of their mares in foal; they will no longer beat or kick them (as is too frequent a practice) for fear of a miscarriage.

32. “A Modest Proposal” excerpts
Only young, tender children would be sold. Older boys, with years of exercise that develops their muscles, would be too tough to eat. Older girls would be so close to childbearing age that it would be best to let them breed.  
An extremely important part of my proposal is that it would eliminate the need to raise taxes to support the poor, thereby enabling the rich to continue to enjoy all of their luxuries. In addition, English landlords would not have to show mercy to their Irish tenants. In turn, the Irish tenants would have enough money to pay their high rents, thanks to the sale of their children.

33. Think about this…
Why is “A Modest Proposal” an effective satire?