Satire and Irony
Satire/irony expresses the world as the writer thinks it
is. The central metaphors are struggle/death and
winter. The discovery that there is a difference
between the ideal (romance) and the real world of
experience produces two different reactions:
Satire / Irony Reactions
The satirist reacts to the world with resentment and
tries to reform it through humor. He/she attacks and
ridicules folly
The ironist reacts to the reality with resignation since
an ideal, ordered world is impossible
Satire
• Attack of established social institutions
(business, government)
• Ridiculous situations, objects, details,
behaviors
• An ordinary life shifted slightly askew
• The jester, fool, or trickster
• Parody of romance characteristics or
elements
Satire Setting
• Stories are set in a complicated, unclear
world in which rules do not make sense.
• Common images are: confused situations,
crowded or uncontrolled world, absurdity,
alienation
Examples: Alice in Wonderland, Monty
Python’s Holy Grail, Saturday Night Live.
Satire Characters
•The hero is one of three types:
The parody of the romantic hero is one who is supposed to be heroic, but is
really cowardly: Woody Allen, Jim Carey, Peter Sellers, and Homer Simpson.
The rogue bends the rules of society and points out their ridiculousness.
He/she focuses the elements of society: government, military, businesses.
Examples: Eddie Murphy, Bart Simpson, David Letterman
The intellectual satirist tries to open the minds of others to societal problems
through witty argument. Examples: Lisa Simpson, Mark Twain
Satire Characters cont.
• The villain is a character, a collection of
characters, or an institution representing
society’s rules and regulations. Examples:
Big Brother, military, big businesses.
Satire Plot
• The stories do not follow a standard plot
line and often parody romance. There are
three types of satire:
Satire Plot cont.
• Light satire criticizes human weakness and identifies it so that
people can laugh at themselves. Examples: Dave Barry, Erma
Bombeck.
• Serious Satire criticizes established rules, social institutions, classes
or groups. Examples: SNL
• Bitter Satire presents the most sarcastic humor and criticism. It
contains a very strong message coupled with humor. Examples:
Chris Rock, “A Modest Proposal,” “Doonesbury”
Satire Themes
• The world is full of folly ad injustice, but it
can be made better.
• People should maintain balance and not
get too involved.
• Laugh at the folly around you
Irony Setting
• Stories are often realistic and set in a
world of experience with life’s true
problems.
• Common images are: totally helpless
situations, limited or restricted world (past
or future), loss of personal identity and
worth. Examples: prisons, insane asylums.
Irony Characters
• Most characters are weak, flat individuals who
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are trapped by life itself.
The rogue continues to struggle against society’s
institutions.
The villainous, self-centered anti-hero emerges
in the ironic world of reality. He/she may be
capable of great evil and see the hypocrisy of
society. Examples: McMurphy, 1984, Scrooge
Irony Plot
• The plot attempts to show life with all its
complications. Examples: Apocalypse Now,
1984, Long Day’s Journey into Night
Irony Themes
• The noble hero is long gone
• A ‘higher force’ is the cause of change
• Theories, generalizations, rules, and regulations are
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more important than human beings and individuality
The law is more important than the spirit of the law
There are no exceptions
To survive, a person needs to become a rogue and
outwit society by using its hypocrisy against itself
Love conquers nothing