Ms. Kray (Adapted from Sherbert and other sources)
Satire
INTRODUCTION TO SATIRE
SATIRE: any piece of writing designed to make its readers feel critical—of themselves, of their fellow human
beings, of their society. Some satire intends to make us laugh at human foolishness and weakness; others
make us angry and indignant at human vices and crimes. Jonathan Swift’s satire sometimes provokes laughter,
but often laughter of a bitter kind. Satirists are dissatisfied with things as they are, and they want to make
them better. Satirists know that human beings often don’t respond well to lecture or admonitions. To shake us
out of our complacency and provoke us to hold the glass up to see ourselves and our world more honestly,
they avoid offering straightforward advice. Instead, they make fun of selfish, mean-spirited, or willfully
ignorant people in the hope that we will see ourselves in such people and mend our ways.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SATIRE:
 Satire at its heart is concerned with ethical reform. It attacks those institutions or individuals the
satirist deems corrupt.
 It works to make vice laughable and/or reprehensible and thus bring social pressure on those who still
engage in wrongdoing.
 It seeks a reform in public behavior, a shoring up of its audience's standards, or at the very least a
wake-up call in an otherwise corrupt culture.
 Satire is often implicit and assumes readers who can pick up on its moral clues. It is not a sermon.
 Satire in general attacks types -- the fool, the boor, the adulterer, the proud -- rather than specific
persons (but sometimes it does attack individuals).
 If it does attack some by name, rather than hoping to reform these persons, it seeks to warn the public
against approving of them.
 Satire is witty, ironic, and often exaggerated. It uses extremes to bring its audience to a renewed
awareness of its ethical and spiritual danger.
 Sometime if the satirist is in danger for his or her attack, ambiguity, innuendo and understatement can
be used to help protect its author.
COMMON RHETORICAL DEVICES USED FOR SATIRE
1. Absurdity: something that seems like it would never happen, but could. For example, in Brave New
World, the society has become so stratified that each class wears a specific color.
2. Ambiguity: An event or situation can be interpreted in more than one way. Also, the manner of
expression of such an event or situation may be ambiguous. Artful language may be ambiguous.
Unintentional ambiguity is vagueness.
3. Connotation: Rather than the dictionary definition, the associations evoked by a word. It is the implied
meaning rather than the literal meaning or denotation (the dictionary meaning of the word.)
o Example: 9/11.
4. Exaggeration/ Inflation/ Overstatement/ Hyperbole: One of the most common techniques of satire is
to take a real-life situation and exaggerate it beyond normal bounds to such a degree that it becomes
ridiculous and its faults can be seen. Every idea and concept are carried to the extreme to capture the
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reader’s attention, and no reasonable halfway measures are used--something is either all good or all
bad. Examples:
- A caricature
- two boys arguing over a possession of a car can be inflated into an interstellar war.
- She sprinkles arsenic on her cornflakes at breakfast and eats it with a side of nails.
- “And fired the shot heard round the world”
- "All cartoon characters and fables must be exaggeration, caricatures. It is the very nature of
fantasy and fable" (Walt Disney)
5. Understatement/ Diminution/ Litote: The opposite of exaggeration (such as being casual and
offhanded about something quite serious; making less of a deal of something than it is). Reduces the
size of something in order that it may be made to appear ridiculous or in order to be examined closely
and have its faults seen close up. A statement seems incomplete or less than truthful given the facts.
o For example, treating the Canadian Members of Parliament as a squabbling group of little boys
is an example of diminution.
o Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver's Travels is a diminutive satire.
o A student frequently forgets his homework and I say “It’s ok, you never forget.”
6. Euphemism: the substitution of an inoffensive terms for one that is offensive.
o Example: replace “die” with “pass away.”
7. IRONY: things are just the opposite of what they seem. Something small and trivial is made to seem
important or serious; known as the “mountain out of a molehill” method. This can be reversed, as
when something very important is made trivial, to show that people aren’t paying enough attention to
this problem. In either case, the subject is described as the opposite of what really exists.
o Example: Marge Simpson reads “Fretful Mother” as she ignores her child.
8. Juxtaposition: Present things that are out of place or are absurd in relation to its surroundings. Places
things of unequal importance side by side. It brings all the things down to the lowest level of
importance on the list. For example, if a guy says his important subjects in school include Calculus,
Computer Science, Physics, and girl-watching, he has managed to take away some of the importance of
the first three. The Rape of the Lock is also an example of juxtaposition. Example:
- Incongruous juxtaposition: Odysseus says he won’t make a sacrifice to the gods, because it’s
barbaric, and then immediately orders all captured enemies to be slain.
9. Parody: Parody is a form of satire that imitates/mocks another work of art in order to ridicule it.
Parody attacks pieces of literature, music, and artwork and enables the satirist (often an author,
entertainer, or advertiser) to use it as criticism to convey a viewpoint.
o Example: Song parody -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7n8GqewJ2M
o Shrek is a parody of a fairy tale.
o Poetry:
Original: The Soul selects her own Society—
Parody: The Soul selects her own Sorority—
Then—shuts the Door
Then—shuts the Dorm—.
"Satire is a lesson, parody is a game." -Vladimir Nabokov
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10. Wit, Word Play, or Pun: A pun is a play on words that are similar in sound but have sharply different
meanings. The title of the play The Importance of being Earnest is a play on the word “earnest,”
meaning honest, and the name “Earnest.”
FORMS SATIRISTS USE:
1. FANTASY -- the setting of the satire is an imaginary world or time. It softens the criticism by removing it
from reality. The idea behind it: people are more willing to consider criticism if the finger isn’t pointing
directly at them.
2. MOCK HEROICS -- take the realistic problem or dispute and turn it into a highly exaggerated epic battle.
3. FORMAL PROPOSAL -- prepare a highly serious, highly rational proposal for action on this problem, but
make it totally unreasonable and exaggerated.
4. PRAISE/BLAME -- take something that is bad and praise it without boundary, or take something good
and cut it to shreds. Either way, the reader will appreciate the irony the author intends.
Satire can be directed at several kinds of TARGETS:
1. THE “SYSTEM” -- this often involves large systems of beliefs, such as religion, or human nature in
general. One example is Swift’s “A Modest Proposal.”
2. THE GROUP -- the target can be a political party, a club, a social class, a profession, even a whole
society.
3. THE INDIVIDUAL -- the author makes fun of one person’s behavior and beliefs because he feels that the
person is foolish or malicious. One example is Swift’s “The Death of the Late Famous General.”
Satire can have two MOODS:
1. Horatian Satire: Named after the Roman satirist, Horace, Horatian satire is a gentle, sympathetic form of
satire. It includes a “voice” that is tolerant, amused, and witty. The speaker does not want to anger the
audience. Instead, the speaker aims to produce a dry, ironic smile. The humor is mild and the author
sees the problem as more foolish than evil.
2. Juvenalian Satire: Named after the Roman satirist, Juvenal, Juvenalian satire is harsher, bitter, and more
formal. The speaker attacks vices and human errors with contempt, condemnation, and indignation. The
ridicule is savage and the author sees the problem as urgent and severe, possibly evil.
3. The satirist may use a tolerant, sympathetic TONE (Horatian) or an angry, bitter TONE (Juvenalian).
a. Characteristics of Horatian tone: cheerful, urbane, tongue-in-cheek, optimistic, warm,
witty, gentle, chiding, etc. Example: The Importance of Being Ernest.
b. Characteristics of Juvenalian tone: cutting, bitter, biting, angry, contemptuous, grim,
sardonic, harsh, indignant, etc. Example: Brave New World or The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Remember, also, the “Triumvirate of Persuasive Appeals”:
1. Logical appeals: supporting a position with evidence, such as facts or statistics;
2. Emotional appeals: passages that use words that arouse strong feelings;
3. Ethical appeals: passages that establish the writer as sincere and qualified to make the remarks.
What is the risk all satirists run?
SATIRE is not just a type of RHETORICAL ANALYSIS; it is an ARGUMENT; therefore, one should reflexively think
about the RHETORICAL TRIANGLE (Speaker/Audience/Subject) and consider the creator’s choices/reasoning
for constructing his argument in this manner.
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Levels of Humor:
One can associate different levels of humor with different body parts: Bathroom humor is lowest; bawdy
humor is only slightly higher; Belly laughs over slapstick; traditional humor in the heart; wit associated with
the brain, and satire is the highest and most complex level of humor.
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Directions: Read the text below. Every time you feel like snickering, smiling, or laughing, underline it. Then,
answer the questions that follow.
The Doctor Won't See You Now
By James Gorman
Published: January 12, 1992
In the confusion, hypocrisy and animosity generated by the AIDS epidemic, finally we hear a voice of
sanity -- and from the medical profession at that. Thirty percent of doctors surveyed by the American
Medical Association in November said they felt no ethical responsibility to treat AIDS patients.
And why should they? For too long, this country has faced rising medical costs and malpractice mania
caused in large part by the mistaken notion that doctors are supposed to treat any slob who comes to
them. This involves dealing with old people who are on the way out anyway, with all sorts of nasty
sores and tumors, and now with AIDS patients, most of whom got sick because of some sort of
disgusting behavior. Except, of course, hemophiliacs, the good AIDS patients.
No other profession faces such obligations. Does a stockbroker have to take on poor clients wanting to
invest pathetically small amounts of money earned during years of wage slavery? No way. Do
architects have to design your house if you are stupid and have no taste? Only if you are filthy rich. Do
real estate developers have to build apartments for the homeless? Enough said.
Part of the medical profession is finally beginning to see that patients have a responsibility for their
own health and that doctoring is no different from any other small business: when you run a
convenience store, you want to keep the riffraff out. If doctors would only build on this insight and
expand their notion of what constitutes riffraff, we'd be getting somewhere. We could cut down
medical costs and stop a lot of disgusting habits as well.
Here are a few of the illnesses they should refuse to treat: coronary artery disease -- caused by the
willful, pig-like consumption of steak, butter, cream and blintzes; skin cancer -- the result of taking off
your clothes and lying around, offending those of us with common sense, while soaking up ultraviolet
radiation; lung cancer and cancer of the lip and throat and larynx and tongue, all fostered by smoking
and alcohol. Also, carpal tunnel syndrome in people who write a lot of trash about ethics and
responsibility.
In fact, I don't think doctors need to specify diseases. A number of respondents to the AIDS survey
said they didn't like treating drug addicts or homosexuals, period. Smart thinking. Let's also exclude
smokers, drinkers, meat eaters and anyone who has sex more often than I do.
I hope no one counters with the tired argument that doctors, because of the place they occupy in
society, not to mention their incomes, should treat anybody who is sick. This plea is based on the
long-discredited idea that doctoring is a profession, a calling, requiring commitment and integrity on
the part of those who practice it. Really. How dumb can you get?
James Gorman is author of "The Man With No Endorphins."
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The Rhetor as Satirist in “The Doctor Won't See You Now”
1. Satire is defined as “writing that ridicules or criticizes individuals, ideas, institutions, social conventions,
or other works of art or literature.” What individuals, ideas, or social conventions is James Gorman
ridiculing?
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2. As a characteristic, satire is “concerned with ethical reform.” What is James Gorman attempting to
reform?
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3. Satire also makes “vice laughable.” What words and phrases by Gordon are humorous?
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4. Why would Gorman choose to make such a serious topic humorous?
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5. Satire is considered “a wake-up call.” What parts of the text serve as “a wake-up call” to anyone not
affected by the AIDS epidemic?
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6. “Satire is often implicit and assumes readers who can pick up on its moral clues.” What message about
morality is Gorman trying to convey? What lines in the text support your opinion?
____________________________________________________________________________________
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7. “Satire attacks general types – the fool, the hoodlum, the adulterer, the proud – rather than specific
persons.” What “type” is Gorman attacking? What lines in the text support your opinion?
____________________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________________
8. Satire is “ironic.” Where does Gorman use irony? With its use, how does Gorman’s message to the
public become more effective?
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9. Satire is “often exaggerated.” Where does Gorman use exaggeration? How does his use of
exaggeration help convey his message to the reader?
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10. Is this an example of Horatian or Juvenalian satire? Support your opinion with details from the text.
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11. Why did Gorman, the speaker, choose to develop his ideas with the use of satire?
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12. The rhetorical triangle: The author, subject, and intention are clear. Who is the audience? Support your
answers with evidence from the text. What is the context of the time period?
The following questions taken from Steven Fox’s Advanced Composition Skills will help you support your opinion:
What level of vocabulary is right for the intended audience?
How much background explanations does this audience require? Context?
Will this audience relate to my material in an intellectual way, or will they be highly emotional?
Is the audience likely to be a group of similarly-minded people, or am I writing for a group characterized
by a diversity of background, opinion, education, and experience?
What attitude, if any, does mu audience bring to this topic?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
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13. Look at the order of the author’s ideas. Briefly and with 2-3 word phrases, outline the information he
presents.
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14. Looking at your outline, why did the author choose to order his ideas in this way?
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15. Often there is a “shift” in non-fiction. This text has a shift in the last paragraph. What is the purpose of
the shift?
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16. In looking at style, the reader easily sees Gorman’s use of rhetorical questions. How do the rhetorical
questions in his essay help convey his message to the reader?
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17. Also in regards to style, the use of strategic diction is evident. Give examples of Gorman’s diction
below:
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18. What is the purpose of Gorman’s diction?
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19. After reading the text, how would you describe the author’s effect on the reader? As always, support
your opinion with details from the text.
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20. What is the significance of this text in today’s society?
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Practice Argument Prompt: Write an essay in which you support, challenge (refute), or qualify James
Gorman’s decision to convey his message with satire.
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“Nation’s Fast Food Patrons No Longer Trusted To Dispense Own Ketchup”
direct from The Onion – America’s Finest News Source. November 16, 2009.
Ketchup is not, as many seem to believe, an unlimited commodity.
WASHINGTON—In an effort to cut condiment expenses and address the gluttony, waste, and utter lack of selfrestraint exhibited by Americans, officials from the fast food industry announced Monday a new policy
prohibiting all customers from dispensing their own ketchup.
“We thought our patrons were responsible enough to handle a self-service ketchup pump,” said McDonald’s
CEO James A. Skinner, who claimed that fast food industry leaders were partly to blame for overestimating the
maturity of the American public. “However, after watching the way you disgusting people behave when
entrusted with a little independence, it’s clear that we made a terrible mistake.”
“Unlimited access to ketchup is a privilege,” Skinner continued, “not a right.”
According to representatives from the nation’s six largest fast food chains, Americans use more than $18
million worth of ketchup per year, with nearly $7 million of the tomato-based condiment ending up smeared
on the backs of chairs, on nearby tables, or in the hair of small children, and in some cases simply spilt in large,
repulsive puddles on the floor.
In all, some 220 factors were cited by the American Fast Food Association in their decision to remove the selfservice pumps. Among them, the spectacular failure on the part of all patrons to recognize their own limits,
and the tendency, among many men and women, to just squirt out the free condiment as if their lives
depended on it.
From now on, those seeking extra ketchup will be required to submit a non-stained written application.
“We tried to treat our customers like adults, and they took advantage of our generosity,” said Burger King CEO
John W. Chidsey, who was visibly upset after hearing that Americans use on average 14 ounces of ketchup per
fast food meal. “What’s wrong with you people? Were you scared it was going to run out or something?”
“Look, it’s not even about the ketchup, okay?” Swette added. “It’s about setting some boundaries for once.”
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Beginning Nov. 12, all participating fast food restaurants will begin serving a maximum of two ketchup packets
with any hamburger-based meal. If a patron desires additional ketchup, he or she will have to fill out a special
three-page Ketchup Request Form, which must then be presented to a manager on duty for evaluation.
In addition to specifying the reason for their request, customers will have to present fast food officials with
two forms of valid ID, their social security number, and a signature from a third-party witness who can attest
to there being enough remaining ketchup-free food to necessitate an additional packet. Only when all
conditions are met will a patron receive a condiment voucher.
Patrons requesting barbecue sauce to dip their fries in will be escorted from the premises immediately.
“Our scientists don’t spend countless hours manufacturing the food we serve just to have it dunked and
drowned in obscene amounts of ketchup,” said J. David Karam, president of Wendy’s International. “Can
customers even taste the dipropyl ketone or amyl acetate in our food anymore? It makes me sick.”
Reaction to the new condiment policy has been overwhelmingly negative thus far, with some patrons claiming
they would sooner eat lunch at home than frequent a fast food establishment that imposes limits on their
ketchup consumption.
“This is outrageous,” said Tennessee resident Sheila Hodge, a longtime fast food consumer. “If I want to gorge
myself on so much ketchup that I need to vomit, then that should be my God-given right. This is McDonald’s
we’re talking about. Half the reason I come here in the first place is so I can behave like a total animal.”
At press time, the Arby’s chain was continuing to let customers freely operate their “horsey sauce” dispenser, as nobody
in America has touched that shit in years.
“Nation’s Fast Food Patrons No Longer Trusted to Dispense Own Ketchup.” The Onion. 16 November 2009. Web. 20 February 20011.
Important Features:
1. One of the first conclusions that you can draw in defining satire is that it is ironic. That could take us
into a whole other direction, defining irony, but stick to the point as much as possible: satire is a
humorous depiction of a set of fact or circumstances that makes some sort of point that is the
opposite of what is stated in an explicit way. For example, in “A Modest Proposal,” Swift doesn’t really
want the babies to be eaten; his point is just the opposite. Irony involves this sort of inversion of what
is sad and what is meant, and this is a central feature of satire.
2. Satire usually involves a fictional format: A narrative voice takes itself seriously (this is the persona, and
not the true author, speaking) and the fictional story presents the satire; some alternative, distorted
reality. Satire usually pretends to be something it’s not, and it’s usually making fun of the thing it’s
pretending to be.
3. Satire traffics in hyperbole. It is usually through exaggeration that the audience is able to determine
that the whole thing is a sham. Good satire gradually engages in more and more exaggeration until the
point becomes clear.
Rewind, Rabelais. “Satire That Tries Men’s Skunks.” Candide’s Notebooks. Pierretrostam.com. 15 July 2008. Web. 2 July 2011.
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Elements of Satire in “Nation’s Fast Food Patrons No Longer Trusted To Dispense Own Ketchup”
1. Satire is defined as “writing that ridicules or criticizes individuals, ideas, institutions, social conventions,
or other works of art or literature.” What individuals, ideas, or social conventions is The Onion
ridiculing?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
2. As a characteristic, satire is “concerned with ethical reform.” What is the author attempting to reform?
____________________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________________
3. Satire also makes “vice laughable.” What words and phrases are humorous?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
4. “Satire attacks general types – the fool, the hoodlum, the adulterer, the proud – rather than specific
persons.” What “type” is being attacked? What lines in the text support your opinion?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
5. What devices did the author use in this satire? Use quotes, terms, and explanations.
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6. It isn’t enough to simply point out the devices the writer used in the text. Why did the author use these
devices? What is the effect of these devices?
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7. Is this an example of Horatian or Juvenalian satire? Support your opinion with details from the text.
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8. Why did the author choose to develop his/her ideas with the use of satire?
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____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
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9. Who is the audience? Support your answers with evidence from the text. What is the context of the
time period?
The following questions taken from Steven Fox’s Advanced Composition Skills will help you support your opinion:
What level of vocabulary is right for the intended audience?
How much background explanations does this audience require? Context?
Will this audience relate to my material in an intellectual way, or will they be highly emotional?
Is the audience likely to be a group of similarly-minded people, or am I writing for a group characterized by a diversity of
background, opinion, education, and experience?
What attitude, if any, does mu audience bring to this topic?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
10. Look at the order of the author’s ideas. Briefly and with 2-3 word phrases, outline the information he
presents.
11. Looking at your outline, why did the author choose to order his/her ideas in this way?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
12. Often there is a “shift” in non-fiction. This text has a shift in the 12th paragraph beginning with
“Reaction to the new condiment policy…” What is the purpose of the shift?
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13. Give examples of interesting and purposeful diction and explain its purpose.
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14. After reading the text, how would you describe the author’s effect on the reader? As always, support
your opinion with details from the text.
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15. What is the significance of this text in today’s society?
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Practice Argument Prompt: Think about the author’s overall message that today’s society is becoming
inundated with frivolous lawsuits and ridiculous regulations. Argue a position: support, challenge (refute), or
qualify this message. Use appropriate evidence to develop your argument.
Practice Rhetorical Analysis Prompt: As you know, every essay is an author’s attempt to convey an intention
to an audience. Outline an essay where you analyze how the author of Nation’s Fast Food Patrons No Longer
Trusted To Dispense Own Ketchup” conveys his/her view.
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This black ironic prayer shows Clemens looking fiercely into the human heart, finding there that animal urge to kill which hidden by
hypocritical, patriotic, outwardly, pious veils of our words. Although he apparently wrote this prayer in 1905, he withheld it from
publication until after his death, telling a friend “I have told the whole truth in that, and only dead men can tell the truth in this world.
The War Prayer
by Mark Twain
It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the
holy fire of patriotism; the drums were beating, the bands playing, the toy pistols popping, the bunched firecrackers
hissing and spluttering; on every hand and far down the receding and fading spread of roofs and balconies a fulttering
wilderness of flags flashed in the sun; daily the young volunteers marched down the wide avenue gay and fine in their
new uniforms, the proud fathers and mothers and sisters and sweethearts cheering them with voices choked with happy
emotion as they swung by; nightly the packed mass meetings listened, panting, to patriot oratory with stirred the
deepest deeps of their hearts, and which they interrupted at briefest intervals with cyclones of applause, the tears
running down their cheeks the while; in the churches the pastors preached devotion to flag and country, and invoked
the God of Battles beseeching His aid in our good cause in outpourings of fervid eloquence which moved every listener.
It was indeed a glad and gracious time, and the half dozen rash spirits that ventured to disapprove of the war and cast a
doubt upon its righteousness straightway got such a stern and angry warning that for their personal safety's sake they
quickly shrank out of sight and offended no more in that way.
Sunday morning came -- next day the battalions would leave for the front; the church was filled; the volunteers were
there, their young faces alight with martial dreams -- visions of the stern advance, the gathering momentum, the rushing
charge, the flashing sabers, the flight of the foe, the tumult, the enveloping smoke, the fierce pursuit, the surrender!
Then home from the war, bronzed heroes, welcomed, adored, submerged in golden seas of glory! With the volunteers
sat their dear ones, proud, happy, and envied by the neighbors and friends who had no sons and brothers to send forth
to the field of honor, there to win for the flag, or, failing, die the noblest of noble deaths. The service proceeded; a war
chapter from the Old Testament was read; the first prayer was said; it was followed by an organ burst that shook the
building, and with one impulse the house rose, with glowing eyes and beating hearts, and poured out that tremendous
invocation:
God the all-terrible! Thou who ordainest,
Thunder thy clarion and lightning thy sword!
Then came the "long" prayer. None could remember the like of it for passionate pleading and moving and beautiful
language. The burden of its supplication was, that an ever-merciful and benignant Father of us all would watch over our
noble young soldiers, and aid, comfort, and encourage them in their patriotic work; bless them, shield them in the day of
battle and the hour of peril, bear them in His mighty hand, make them strong and confident, invincible in the bloody
onset; help them crush the foe, grant to them and to their flag and country imperishable honor and glory -An aged stranger entered and moved with slow and noiseless step up the main aisle, his eyes fixed upon the minister,
his long body clothed in a robe that reached to his feet, his head bare, his white hair descending in a frothy cataract to
his shoulders, his seamy face unnaturally pale, pale even to ghastliness. With all eyes following him and wondering, he
made his silent way; without pausing, he ascended to the preacher's side and stood there waiting. With shut lids the
preacher, unconscious of his presence, continued his moving prayer, and at last finished it with the words, uttered in
fervent appeal, "Bless our arms, grant us the victory, O Lord and God, Father and Protector of our land and flag!"
The stranger touched his arm, motioned him to step aside -- which the startled minister did -- and took his place. During
some moments he surveyed the spellbound audience with solemn eyes, in which burned an uncanny light; then in a
deep voice he said:
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"I come from the Throne -- bearing a message from Almighty God!" The words smote the house with a shock; if the
stranger perceived it he gave no attention. "He has heard the prayer of His servant your shepherd, and will grant it if
such be your desire after I, His messenger, shall have explained to you its import -- that is to say, its full import. For it is
like unto many of the prayers of men, in that it asks for more than he who utters it is aware of -- excpet he pause and
think. "God's servant and yours has prayed his prayer. Has he paused and taken thought? Is it one prayer? No, it is two -one uttered, and the other not. Both have reached the ear of Him who heareth all supplications, the spoken and the
unspoken. Ponder this -- keep it in mind. If you would beseech a blessing upon yourself, beware! lest without intent you
invoke a curse upon your neighbor at the same time. If you pray for the blessing of rain on your crop which needs it, by
that act you are possibly praying for a curse on some neighbor's crop which may not need rain and can be injured by it.
"You have heard your servant's prayer -- the uttered part of it. I am commissioned by God to put into words
the other part of it -- that part which the pastor -- and also you in your hearts -- fervently prayed silently. And
ignorantly and unthinkingly? God grant that it was so! You heard the words 'Grant us the victory, O Lord our
God!' That is sufficient. The whole of the uttered prayer is compact into those pregnant words. Elaborations
were not necessary. When you have prayed for victory you have prayed for many unmentioned results which
follow victory -- must follow it, cannot help but follow it. Upon the listening spirit of God fell also the unspoken
part of the prayer. He commandeth me to put it into words. Listen!
"Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth into battle -- be Thou near them! With them
-- in spirit -- we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God,
help us tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale
forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded,
writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts
of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to
wander unfriended in the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun
flames in summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring thee for the refuge
of the grave and denied it -For our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimmage,
make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their
wounded feet!
We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend
of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.
(After a pause.) "Ye have prayed it; if ye still desire it, speak! The messenger of the Most High waits."
…
It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said.
(The Other Story: Twain apparently dictated it around 1904-05; it was rejected by his publisher, and was found after his death among his unpublished manuscripts. It
was first published in 1923 in Albert Bigelow Paine’s anthology, Europe and Elsewhere)
1. What is being mocked?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. How do you know?
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1991 AP English Language MULTIPLE CHOICE
Directions: This part consists of selections from prose works and questions on their content, form, and style.
After reading each passage. choose the best answer to each question and completely fill in the corresponding
oval on the answer sheet.
Note: Pay particular attention to the requirement of questions that contain the words NOT, LEAST, or
EXCEPT.
Questions 1-9. Read the following passage carefully before you choose your answers.
What is invective, indirect satire?
How easy is it to call rogue and villain, and that
wittily! But how hard to make a man appear a fool, a
blockhead, or a knave without using any of those opproBased on the context, what does opprobrious mean?
brious terms! To spare the grossness of the names, and
Contrasts are used to explain the ability of the
(5) to do the thing yet more severely, is to draw a full face,
satirist. What are they?
and to make the nose and cheeks stand out, and yet not
to employ any depth of shadowing. This is the mystery
What is a “witty” man compared to a fool?
of that noble trade, which yet no master can teach to his
Why is this important to satire?
apprentice; he may give the rules, but the scholar is
(10) never the nearer in his practice. Neither is it true that
What implied analogy is the speaker using in
this fineness of raillery is offensive. A witty man is
lines 4-7?
tickled while he is hurt in this manner, and a fool feels it
not. The occasion of an offense may possibly be given,
Raillery means humorous, playful ridiculing
but he cannot take it. If it be granted that in effect this
of something. How is the speaker using this
(15) way does more mischief; that a man is secretly wounded,
reference for a writer’s ability?
and though he be not sensible himself, yet the malicious
world will find it out for him; yet there is still a vast
What is humorous about the “If… place”
difference betwixt the slovenly butchering of a man, and
sentence?
the fineness of a stroke that separates the head from the
(20) body, and leaves it standing in its place. A man may be
What is a malefactor?
capable, as Jack Ketch's ¹ wife said of his servant, of a
plain piece of work. a bare hanging; but to make a malefactor
What is the speaker’s attitude about Jack
die sweetly was only belonging to her husband. I
Ketch?
wish I could apply it to myself, if the reader would be
(25) kind enough to think it belongs to me.
¹A notorious public executioner
1. In the first two sentences of the passage (lines 1-4), the speaker draws a distinction between
A) obvious invective and indirect satire
B) esoteric knowledge and common understanding
C) coarse speaking and inferior painting
D) speaking and writing
E) wit and humor
2. In the sentence beginning "To spare" (lines 4-7), the speaker makes use of
A) understatement
B) hyperbole
C) a syllogism
D) an allegory
E) an analogy
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3. In line 8, "that noble trade" refers to which of the following?
A) "to call rogue and villain" (line 1)
B) "to employ any depth of shadowing" (line 7)
C) "the scholar" (line 9)
D) "fineness of raillery" (line 11)
E) "The occasion of an offense" (line 13)
4. The sentence "Neither ... offensive" (lines 10-11) does which of the following?
A) Undercuts a point made previously.
B) Contradicts the thesis of the passage.
C) Answers a possible objection.
D) Offers an opposing point of view.
E) Presents an authoritative example.
5. The contrast drawn between the witty man and the fool (lines 11-13) emphasizes the witty man's
A) self-confidence and the fool's lack of self-knowledge
B) appreciation and the fool's lack of comprehension
C) justified anger and the fool's innocence
D) sense of humor and the fool's resentment
E) ability to retaliate and the fool's lack of wit
6. In the sentence "If ... place" (lines 14-20), the author does which of the following?
A) Distinguishes an explanation of a timeworn idea from a common occurrence.
B) Raises an objection and then overrides it with an assertion.
C) Presents a dilemma and then explains its difficulties.
D) Offers a contrasting example and then dismisses it.
E) Cites an exaggeration and then minimizes it.
7. Which of the following best describes the speaker's professed attitude toward the reputation of Jack Ketch?
A) Admiration verging on envy
B) Thinly veiled contempt
C) Sympathy bordering on pity
D) Respect tinged with impatience
E) Repugnance combined with jealousy
8. In the context of the passage, the author probably intends the reader to find the words of Jack Ketch's wife
A) sobering
B) deceptive
C) horrifying
D) humorous
E) compassionate
9. The speaker draws on contrasts between all of the following EXCEPT
A) wit and dullness
B) ordinariness and excellence
C) maliciousness and compassion
D) coarseness and refinement
E) skill and ineptitude
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Your Task:
Read all of the texts below. Then, write an informal (but grammatically correct) response to them. Consider:

Are they satirical?
 Who or what is being satirized? Why?
 Are they effective?
 What do you think about the issues presented?
 What techniques of satire can you identify in these texts?
Text 1: Girl Moved To Tears By 'Of Mice And Men' Cliffs Notes (from The Onion)
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dc4tqsvc_64cvph76fw
Text 2: Degrees of Matriculation (editorial from New York Times on College Admissions)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/05/opinion/05borowitz.html?_r=3&scp=1&sq=matriculation&st=n
yt&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Text 3: Advice to Youth by Mark Twain
http://www.tnellen.com/06iths/spring/youth.html
Text 4: The Speech of Miss Polly Baker by Benjamin Franklin
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=469
Visual 1: Daryl Cagle's list of political cartoons
http://cagle.com/politicalcartoons/
Visual 2: Slide show of satirical covers from The New Yorker (including the Obama one that got them in so
much trouble): http://www.newyorker.com/online/covers/slideshow_blittcovers
More Satire: Not Your Father’s Taliban by Andy Borowitz (New Yorker)
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2010/03/08/100308sh_shouts_borowitz
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Ms. Kray
Name:________________________________
APELAC: Satire
Due Date:_________
Satire Extravaganza
We have spent several classes studying, analyzing, and criticizing the art of satire. Now that you are satire experts, it is
time to show what you know and explore your creativity.
What are the project groups?
 Groups are self-chosen
 Groups may be any size (including working individually)
What must each project include?
 A title
 A heading
 A definition of satire
 An explanation of how, why, when, and where satire is most useful
 An example of satire (visual or written) with an analysis
o Analysis may be a
 Traditional essay / Verbal analysis / Visual representation / Something else
o Analysis must be
 Accurate / Supported / Thorough
 One “choice option” per person in the group
What are the “choice options”?
 An original piece of written satire
 An original piece of visual satire
 An original satirical song
 An original satirical news clip, interview, or video
What are the possible presentation methods?
 Power point / Video / Visual artistic presentation (poster/mobile/etc.) / Portfolio
→ REMEMBER: Satire is more than ridicule; it is ridicule with a purpose. Just making fun of someone because you don’t
like them is not satire. You must focus on the problem, the foolishness or wrongs that ought to be changed. Find a way
to make these seem ridiculous, but make the reader think about the problem at the same time he/she is laughing, and
you have created an effective satire.

As a class, generate a list of problems you might attack in your own original satires.
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Satire Extravaganza Rubric
Criteria
1
2
Limited
Limited creativity.
creativity.
Setup
Neat and thorough
Neat setup/
setup/presentation.
presentation.
Poor definition
of satire.
Superficial
Limited but accurate
Definition
and/or
definition of satire.
inaccurate
information.
Poor
explanation of
the use of
Limited but accurate
satire.
Explanation
explanation of the
Superficial
use of satire.
and/or
inaccurate
information.
Poor analysis of
satire.
Somewhat well
Limited analysis of
written,
satire. Somewhat
Analysis
accurate,
well written,
Counts
original, and
accurate, original,
Twice
thorough
and thorough
analysis
analysis supported
supported with
with some evidence.
little or no
evidence.
Original pieces
Choice
that are
Original pieces that
Option(s)
somewhat
are accurate
Counts
accurate
examples of satire.
Twice
examples of
satire.
Total:_____________/28_____________
24-28
18-23
12-17
7-11
0-6
3
Good creativity.
Interesting, original,
neat, and thorough
setup/presentation.
4
Exemplary creativity.
Interesting, original,
neat, and thorough
setup/presentation.
Good definition of
satire. Thorough,
accurate, and well
described.
Excellent definition of
satire. Thorough,
accurate, and extremely
well described.
Good explanation of
the use of satire.
Thorough, accurate,
and well described.
Excellent explanation of
the use of satire.
Thorough, accurate, and
extremely well
described.
Good analysis of
satire. Well written,
accurate, original, and
thorough analysis
supported with wellchosen, evidence.
Exemplary analysis of
satire. Extremely well
written, accurate,
insightful, original, and
thorough analysis
supported with wellchosen, excellent
evidence.
Creative, original,
interesting pieces that
are accurate and good
examples of satire.
Extremely creative,
original, interesting
pieces that are accurate
and ideal examples of
satire.
Score
A Range
B Range
C Range
D Range
F Range
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