Satire

1. Satire • A piece of writing, speaking, or art designed to criticize society or human frailties through wit, humor or derision (mockery) • Satire: making fun of some aspect of culture, society, human nature to hopefully improve, reform or correct it

2. Satire in Television

3. Satire is Different from Comedy • --Satire seeks to improve, correct, or reform through ridicule….Comedy aims simply to amuse its audience • --Satire uses laughter as a weapon against something outside the work itself

4. Satirical DEvices • Irony • Verbal irony is saying one thing but meaning another. • Praising people for qualities they do not possess. • Presenting weaknesses as virtues. • Offering solutions that are worse than the problems they are intending to solve.

5. Satirical DEvices • Situational irony- An ironic situation is one in which something unexpected and seemingly contradictory occurs. • Ex: “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”
 • “Water, water, every where, 
Nor any drop to drink” • ---It’s ironic that water surrounds the sailors, but none can be drunk

6. Additional Satirical Devices • Understatement: Presenting something as less important than it is. • Swift admits that readers might consider his proposal of eating children “a little cruel.” • Overstatement: Presenting something as more important than it is. • “Call the ambulance! Call the paramedics! Help!” in response to a paper cut.

7. Additional Satirical Devices • Hyperbole: Wildly extravagant exaggeration • Sarcasm: Harsh, cutting remarks about someone • Parody: Mimicking another literary form in order to ridicule it

8. Satire • “Teenage Affluenza” • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFZz6ICzpjI

9. Satire • “Teenage Affluenza” • Discuss: • Summarize • Perceived object of satire • Tone • Setting • Etc. • Your reaction to the segment • Personal connection with the subject • How might the contents of the video help to change teenagers’ behavior going forward?

10. Jonathan Swift • Swift was born in Ireland in 1667 to English parents. • Ordained a priest in the Anglican church of Ireland in 1695, and he spent most of his time serving small parishes in Ireland and writing political journalism. • Swift became an apologist (defender) of Ireland against unjust political policies, rationalism (and contemporary optimism about human perfectibility), and religious hypocrisy. • Major works: Gulliver’s Travels and “A Modest Proposal”

11. “A Modest Proposal” – Food for Thoughtthe problems and solutions Jonathan Swift associates with each group listed. Poor parents cannot support them. Use them as food or clothing. They are not valuable commodities. Reserve them for breeding. They are not a significant problem because they are dying. They are dying.

12. Analyzing “A Modest Proposal”: Answer the following questions: • What form does Swift use/parody when writing this satire? [A poem, essay, or prose narrative format?] • What or who is the specific target of the satire? • What point does “A Modest Proposal” make about the target [What is the human folly, vice, or weakness?] • What elements did he use in the satire? [Exaggeration, verbal irony or some other literary element.] Explain how he used each element. – see next slide. • Which appeal (ethical, logical, or emotional) does Swift use the most? [Or cite an example of when he uses one specific appeal.] Explain.

13. Finding satirical devices in Swifts “A Modest Proposal” … • Can you find an example of each concept in the essay? • After reading, write each term; cite the example; then explain how the example demonstrates/fulfills the concept. • Hyperbole • Understatement • Irony • Parody