Brief introduction to the art of satire and irony

1. Satire
Is the author serious or is he joking around?

2. Definition
• Satire = Noun. A literary device which
blends humor with criticism for the purpose
of instruction or the improvement of
humanity

3. Ingredients
• Humor
• Criticism, either general criticism of
humanity or human nature or specific
criticism of an individual or group.
• Some kind of moral voice: simply
mocking or criticism is not “satire.”

4. • Ironic/Sarcastic
• Either good natured criticism (Horatian
after Horace) or bitterly cynical
denunciation (Juvenalian after Juvenal)
• Always opposed to pretense,
affectation, and hypocrisy
• More than a little bit prone to
references to things society finds taboo
or disgusting (bodily functions,
sexuality, etc.)

5. Two Kinds
• Direct satire
• Indirect Satire
– Parody
– Caricature
– Exaggeration
– Diminutization

6. Direct Satire
• stating a direct criticism humorously.
This is the oldest and, historically, most
common form of satiric writing.
“You can't get in your car and not run into another idiot who pulls into the gas
station with his fuel tank on the wrong side and then has to get instructions from a
NASA team at Houston Control to figure out how to maneuver his car so that the
tank is on the correct side. And you can't open a paper without reading about a
mondo idiot who gets hurt or killed at a railroad crossing because they had to try
and beat the train to get home in time to watch Charlene Tilton's salute to porcelain
clowns on QVC.”
Dennis Miller:
“The Death of Common Sense”

7. Indirect Satire
• Uses characters who represent points of view
and are made ridiculous by their own
behavior and thoughts, and by the narrator's
ironic commentary

8. • Parody = a work of literature that
mimics another work of literature,
usually as a way of criticizing it.
• Scary Movie
• Weird Al Yankovich
• Austin Powers
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail

9. Robin Hood: Men in Tights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX4Ik-cyp-I

10. • Caricature = An exaggerated portrayal
of the weaknesses, frailties, or
humorous aspects of an individual or
group.

11. • Exaggeration = The portrayal of
something trivial or unimportant as very
important, usually to emphasize its
triviality.
• Diminutization = the portrayal of
something perceived as important as
something trivial/unimportant to show
its unimportance.

12. Horatian vs Juvenalian
• Horatian = playfully criticizes some social vice
through gentle, mild, and light-hearted
humor.
– directs wit, exaggeration, and self-deprecating humor toward
what it identifies as folly, rather than evil

13. Examples
• The Simpsons
• A. Pope – “The Rape of the Lock”
• Lewis, Clive Staples – The Screwtape Letters

14. A. Pope:
“The Rape of the Lock”
The Peer now spreads the glittering Forfex wide,
T' inclose the Lock; now joins it, to divide.
Ev'n then, before the fatal Engine clos'd,
A wretched Sylph too fondly interpos'd;
Fate urged the Sheers, and cut the Sylph in twain,
(But Airy Substance soon unites again)
The meeting Points the sacred Hair dissever
From the fair Head, for ever and for ever!

15. Horatian vs Juvenalian
• Juvenalian = more contemptuous and
abrasive. It addresses social evil through
scorn, outrage, and savage ridicule.
– pessimistic, characterized by irony, sarcasm, moral
indignation and personal invective, with less emphasis on
humor.

16. Examples
• Bradbury, Ray – Fahrenheit 451
• Orwell, George – 1984, Animal Farm
• Swift, Jonathon – “A Modest Proposal”

17. Irony
• Situational
– The opposite of what is expected to happen
occurs
• Verbal
– The opposite of what is meant is said (sarcasm)
• Dramatic
– The reader knows something the character does
not

18. Situational Irony
• The fire safety lectures were canceled because
the screen caught on fire.
• An ambulance runs over a pedestrian.
• If you have a phobia of long words you have
to tell people that you have
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia...

19. Verbal Irony
• Your friend gets splashed by a car driving
through a puddle and you say: “wow, how
lucky are you?!”

20. Dramatic Irony
• Scary music in a horror movie only the
audience can hear, so we are prepared for
what is to come while the characters are not.
• In Titanic, we know the boat is going to sink.
The people on the boat are unaware of the
actual dangers the iceberg presents.

21. Why is this ironic?

22. Why is this ironic?

23. Why is this ironic?

24. Why is this ironic?

25. Mars Rover Landing (2012)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pInQS9cj
m7Y

26. The Onion
“America’s Finest News Source”

27. Family Avoiding Eye Contact With Dad
After Steelers Fumble
BETHEL PARK, PA—Uncomfortably shifting in their seats as
the costly turnover was replayed in slow motion, the entire
Harrison family avoided eye contact with father Jeff Harrison for
several incredibly tense minutes Sunday following a fumble by the
Pittsburgh Steelers, household sources confirmed. “Goddammit,”
said the visibly incensed 52-year-old, who just moments before
had been jovially watching the game with his wife and two
children, all of whom were now in complete silence and actively
staring straight ahead or down at their phones as the fumble was
confirmed by referees. “C’mon—hang on to the ball for Christ’s
sake! Unbelievable.” At press time, reports confirmed the two
Harrison children were quietly considering leaving the room and
watching the game upstairs as their father began to yell that the
player’s knee was down and that Steelers head coach Mike
Tomlin should “just challenge the damn call.”

28. Michael Phelps Banned From Having
Any Contact With Water For 6 Months
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO—Calling the three-time Olympian’s
recent arrest for driving under the influence a blatant violation of
the organization’s code of conduct, USA Swimming reportedly
banned Michael Phelps Monday from having any direct or indirect
contact with water for six months. “We take these latest
infractions very seriously and they require significant
consequences; therefore, over the next six months, Mr. Phelps
will be barred from having any personal or professional
interactions with water,” said USA Swimming executive director
Chuck Wielgus in a statement to the media, citing the
suspension’s stipulations that Phelps refrain from drinking,
showering, or partaking in any sort of activity that puts him in
close proximity to the liquid over the next 24 weeks. “There’s
been some precedent with other athletes who were banned from
going near any body of water for two to three months for similar
transgressions, but seeing as this is Mr. Phelps’ second offense,
he has to be punished accordingly. If he slips up, he’ll never touch
water again.” At press time, Phelps was making preparations to
drain all the water remaining in his body’s 37.2 trillion cells

29. Irony Assignment
• Create an original work of irony
–Draw a picture that is filled with irony
–Try to make the picture stand alone without an
explanation of why it is ironic
•Situational
–The opposite of what is expected to happen occurs
•Verbal
–The opposite of what is meant is said (sarcasm)
•Dramatic
–The reader knows something the character does not