1. The Elements of Satire Satire should, like a polished razor keen, Wound with a touch that's scarcely felt or seen. -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

2. What is satire? Comes from the latin word satura, meaning “dish of mixed ingredients”. A technique in which a writer ridicules or criticizes a person, group, institution or event using certain literary devices. Usually witty. Almost always sarcastic or ironic. Usually has a tone of “mock-approval” – sarcastically supporting the very thing it is criticizing. How does the definition of satire relate to its latin root?

3. Forms of Satire Drama (Tartuffe – Moliere, The Importance of Being Earnest – Oscar Wilde ) Journalism (The Onion) Fiction (A Modest Proposal – Jonathan Swift, The Lowest Animal – Mark Twain) Poetry (The Rape of the Locke – Alexander Pope) Graphic Arts (editorial cartoons) Television programs (Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report) Music (With God on Our Side – Bob Dylan, Weird Al)

4. Examples of Satire in Pop Culture Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update The Daily Show Scary Movie Austin Powers Political cartoons This is Spinal Tap Songs by Weird Al Yankovich (White and Nerdy) The Simpsons

5. Satirical Techniques Satirical Techniques Sarcasm Irony Parody Burlesque Elevated word choice Puns Hyperbole/exaggeration

6. Methods of Satire Pun: play on words Hyperbole: overstatement often used to show how ridiculous a situation is. Burlesque is an imitation of a person or subject by exaggeration or distortion. ◦a frivolous subject may be treated with mock dignity ◦a weighty subject might be handled in a trivial style ◦character who should use formal, intelligent language speaks like a fool or a character who is portrayed as uneducated uses highly sophisticated, intelligent language. Ex: Princess Bride – “Marriage, marriage”, giant who rhymes Parody mocks not a person or subject, but a specific literary work or style, by imitating features and applying them to trivial or incongruous materials. Weird Al song, Beat it ---Eat it.