Satire
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A literary technique in which behaviors or
institutions are ridiculed for the purpose of
improving society
What sets it apart from other forms of
protest is humor
Often clever, witty, imaginative, funny—but
not always laugh-out-loud funny
Target is usually social or political
History
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Horace and Juvenal were influential Latin
satirists
Horation satire: playfully amusing, gentle
laughter; “soft” satire
Juvenalian satire: dark, bitter, caustic,
harsh, scornful; “hard” satire
Methods of Satire
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Irony or sarcasm
Parody
Exaggeration
Incongruity
Reversal
Satire Today
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Cartoons: New Yorker, Christian Science
Monitor, Doonesbury, Cathy
In Literature: Don Quixote; The Master and Margarita;
Animal Farm; 1984; Catch 22
In the News: The Onion
In Music: Janis Joplin’s Mercedes Benz; Frank Zappa’s
We’re Only In It For the Money
In Film: Modern Times; The Great Dictator; Dr.
Strangelove; American Beauty; Blazing Saddles;
Borat; A Day Without a Mexican; Thank You For
Smoking
On TV: The Simpsons; South Park; Colbert Report;
Family Guy
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)
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Born in Dublin of English parents
Not wealthy but received an excellent
education
1686 Graduated from Trinity College,
Dublin
1689 Became secretary to Sir William
Temple, an ex-diplomat for 10 years
1695 Ordained an Anglican minister
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Began writing career as a political writer for the
Whig party
First satires he published anonymously
As he became more and more known, his style
was recognized
Later he became a writer for the Tory party
Lampooned modern thinkers and scientists
(Locke, Newton), religious abuses
Human arrogance, phoniness and shallowness
Stood for justice, order, moral rectitude and
principles, rational thought
Homework
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Do a little research on-line about The Tattler
Describe your findings in one-paragraph
response
Find an example of a contemporary satirical
cartoon
Explain the satire in a one-paragraph response
Print out the cartoon and attach the cartoon to
the back of your paper