Satire

What is satire? Satire can be defined as poking fun at a serious social situation. The intent is not to be mean and hurt feelings, the intent is to improve some aspect of society. Satire is not always laugh out loud, funny. This is what makes it even more clever. Satire is funny in the sense that we often think, “that is sooo true”. Satirists often use wit, irony, sarcasm and exaggeration to prove their point. Be careful not to confuse satire with sarcasm, sarcasm is a technique used in satire but not all satire includes sarcasm. Just because someone is being sarcastic, does not mean they are also being satirical.

Types of Satire

Horatian satire

  • This type of satire examines a social vice through playful, light-hearted humor or wit.
  • Named after the Roman satirist Horace.
  • Uses wit, exaggeration and self-deprecation to identify stupidity (rather than major issues) within modern society.
  • Examples: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, SNL, The Daily Show, The Onion

Juvenalian Satire

  • Named after the Roman satirist Juvenal
  • Addresses social evil through scorn, fury and ridicule
  • Doesn’t often involve humor but is more a pessimistic, ironic or sarcastic nature towards moral and social indignation.
  • Examples: books like Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Brand New World by Aldous Huxley and Animal Farmby George Orwell

Satire In Our World

30 pts- DUE Monday

You are to do a bit of research and find a satirical piece you find particularly clever and witty. Below are some suggestions (Filter Alert- some of these suggestions can contain “adult” humor not appropriate to school. I’m not suggesting you explore these, there are plenty of clean satirical cartoons, videos and articles….don’t blame me when your parents question your internet “research.”)
The Onion
The Daily Show
The Colbert Report
Satirical Political
Ironic Times
Political Cartoons

Saturday Night Live

Once you have found a humorous example (provide a copy for me if print, a URL if a video), analyzing the following:

  1. The author’s argument.
  2. Rhetorical devices used to create the argument.
  3. Context provided that allows reader’s to understand the argument
  4. Type of satire (Horatian or Juvenalian) and an explanation of why