“Harrison Bergeron”
Kurt Vonnegut
 What
is Satire?
 Satire
- any kind of writing, speaking, or
art that ridicules some weakness in
individuals or society
 There
must be a clear target (it may not be
obvious though)
• Can attack an institution (government,
politics, religion, education, society, etc) or
social evil
• Can attack an individual or a type of person
 Must
be humorous, but with the purpose of
pointing out human faults and effecting some
improvement in humanity or human institutions
 A good satire should make the reader/watcher
think
 Satire’s
purpose is to bring about change!
 The
primary purpose of any satirical work is to
use the weapon of wit to attack something with
which the author strongly disagrees in the hope
of producing a change
 Satire
usually asks us to see what is around us
and consider it
 Art
 Music
 Poetry/Prose
 Drama/TV
 Cartoons
 Weird
Al Yankovic
 “You’re Pitiful” satirizes the song “You’re Beautiful” by
James Blunt
 George
Orwell
 Saturday
Night Live
 Irony
• Situational
• Dramatic
• Verbal
 Sarcasm
 Hyperbole/Exaggeration
 Understatement
 Irony
- the contrast between what is
expected or what appears to be and what
actually is
• Situational Irony - refers to a happening that is
the opposite of what is expected or intended
• Dramatic Irony - occurs when the audience or
reader knows something important that a
character does not know
 Verbal
Irony - the contrast between what is
said and what is actually meant
• Sarcasm - a type of verbal irony often in the form of
a remark in which the literal meaning is
complimentary but the actual meaning is critical
• Hyperbole- a figure of speech that uses
exaggeration to emphasize strong feelings or to
create a satiric effect
• Understatement - the technique of creating
emphasis by saying less than what is actually or
literally true
 Understatement
 Sarcasm
 Hyperbole
 Situational
 Dramatic