Adapted from: English Language and Composition, 3rd Edition
The subtlety and nuances of satire can sometimes go unnoticed; some students may find it
hard to know how to analyze the rhetorical strategies that satirists use. Although, of course,
satirists can employ all of the devices of rhetoric, quite often they make use of the
following:
1. Caricature — A representation, especially pictorial or literary, in which the
subject's distinctive features or peculiarities are deliberately exaggerated to produce
a comic or grotesque effect. Sometimes caricature can be so exaggerated that it
becomes a grotesque imitation or misrepresentation. Synonymous words include
burlesque, parody, travesty, lampoon.
2. Hyperbole — A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement.
Hyperboles sometimes have a comic effect; however, a serious effect is also
possible. Hyperbole often produces irony at the same time.
3. Understatement — The ironic minimizing of fact, understatement presents
something as less significant than it is. The effect can frequently be humorous and
emphatic. Understatement is the opposite of hyperbole.
4. Irony — The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant; the
difference between what appears to be and what actually is true. Irony is used for
many reasons, but frequently, it's used to create poignancy or humor.
5. Wit or Wordplay— In modern usage, wit is intellectually amusing language that
surprises and delights. A witty statement is humorous, while suggesting the speaker's
verbal power in creating ingenious and perceptive remarks. Wit usually uses terse
language that makes a pointed statement.
6. Sarcasm — From the Greek meaning, "to tear flesh," sarcasm involves bitter, caustic
language that is meant to hurt of ridicule someone or something. It may use irony as
a device, but not all ironic statements are sarcastic. When well done, sarcasm can be
witty and insightful; when poorly done, it's simply cruel.
7. Allusion — A direct or indirect reference to something that is presumably commonly
know, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art. Allusions can be
historical, literary, religious, or mythical. A work may simultaneously use multiple
layers of allusion.
8. Juxtaposition — Placing dissimilar items, descriptions, or ideas close together or
side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.
Frequently, satire is characterized as one of two types:
Horatian satire is gentle, urbane, smiling; it aims to correct with broadly sympathetic
laughter. Based on the Roman lyrical poet Horace, its purpose may be "to hold up a mirror"
so readers can see themselves and their world honestly. The vices and follies sati rized are
not destructive; however, they reflect the foolishness of people, the superficiality and
meaninglessness of their lives, and the barrenness of their values.
Juvenalian satire is biting, bitter, and angry; it points out the corruption of human beings
and institutions with contempt, using a savage outrage based on the style of the Roman poet
Juvenal. Sometimes perceived as enraged, Juvenalian satire sees the vices and follies in the
world as intolerable. Juvenalian satirists use large doses of sarcasm and irony.
Device
Irony
Mock-Heroic
Mockery
Naive narrator
(aka defamiliarization)
Overstatement
Parody
Pathos
Sarcasm
Understatement
Definition
Discrepancy between expectation and
actuality
Using epic language to describe
trivial/mundane events
Ridicule or derision
An "outsider" brings new perspective to an
old issue
Exaggeration; hyperbole
Ridicule/humor through imitation
Quick transition from the serious to the
ridiculous; emotional appeal
Harsh derision, usually incorporating ironic
statements
Saying less than is meant
Example
“A Modest Propostal”
The Rape of the Lock, “Wife of Bath’s Tale”
Gulliver's Travels
"I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse!"
"Weird Al" Yankovic; SNL; De-Motivators
"For Christmas, I wish for world peace, a cure for
cancer, and some skittles."
Referring to a cold stone bench as "soo comfy."
"The Nazis certainly were a bit inconsiderate,
weren't they?"