An Introduction to Satire Another way to persuade…

Using humor to persuade… Satire: a manner of writing that mixes a critical attitude with wit and humor in an effort to improve mankind and human institutions. Vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule in an attempt to shame society or individuals into improvement.

Satire

When someone creates a satire, it is… Ironic/Sarcastic Either good natured criticism (Horatian after Horace) or bitterly cynical denunciation (Juvenalian after Juvenal) Always opposed to pretense, affectation, and hypocrisy More than a little bit prone to references to things society finds taboo or disgusting (bodily functions, sexuality, etc.)

The Persona… When creating a satire, the person will often take on the “disguise” of the person, group, or viewpoint and act like them in order to show the problems or issues with that person, group, or viewpoint.

Types of Direct Satire Horatian satire is a type of direct satire which pokes fun at human shortcomings with a witty even indulgent tone. It tends to produce a smile. Juvenalian satire is a type of direct satire which denounces, sometimes with invective, human vice and error in dignified and solemn tones. It is harsh and attacks people.

Horatian Satire White Zombies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xyhVO-SWfM&list=PLbqveGZpQ2sYWv8dM56KBQBy8a7HQru6I&index=13

Juvenalian Satire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF4_4g1B2Ug

Satire Vocabulary Caricature: An exaggerated portrayal of the weaknesses, frailties, or humorous aspects of an individual or group.

Examples of Caricatures Caricatures of the presidential candidates by Saturday Night Live cast members in ‘03 year actually changed the way that the candidates performed in public.

Irony Verbal Irony: a writer says one thing and means another Situational irony: when the reader expects one outcome but the opposite happens. Dramatic Irony: When the reader or audience knows something the character does not.

Irony Examples Finding Nemo – situational ironyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXHqhd3GmcY Family Guy: - verbal irony https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBztjzDr0fM Simba finds Mufasa– dramatic irony https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84Irg8xn4bg&list=PLCpvrwWihTQPmWTw9wrx_m7DPGdnn0_wK&index=3

Irony

Hyperbole Techniques of Satire To enlarge, increase, or represent something beyond normal bounds so that it becomes ridiculous and its faults can be seen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_ODYCs9CS4

Understatement Understatement: opposite of exaggeration; a statement that expresses a fact too weakly or less emphatically than it should https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zN9TLkOpZ0 Example:  Someone tells us of an occasion on which he told an off-color joke about a grandmother and then realized to his surprise that his own grandmother, a prim and proper lady, happened to be standing right behind him.  "I literally died," he says.

Sarcasm Sarcasm is intentional derision, generally directed at another person and intended to hurt. The term comes from a Greek word meaning “to tear flesh like dogs” and signifies a cutting remark. Sarcasm usually involves obvious, verbal irony, achieving its effect by jeeringly stating the opposite of what is meant so as to heighten the insult.

http://www. nbc. com/saturday-night-live/video/sarcasm-101/n11017 http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/sarcasm-101/n11017?snl=1

Incongruity To present things that are out of place or are absurd in relation to its surroundings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L2hDkxHvbA

Reversal To present the opposite of the normal order (e.g., the order of events, hierarchical order). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgPl1WxodZ4

Parody To imitate the techniques and/or style of some person, place, or thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1cgWP4VBEM

Example of Satire: “A Modest Proposal” Written in 1729 by Jonathan Swift. 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. Many pamphlets were being written by people spouting their opinions with the development of the printing press.

“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.

“A Modest Proposal” excerpts 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.

Think about this… Why is “A Modest Proposal” an effective satire? Next class, we will be reading “A Modest Proposal.”