The Elements of Satire should like a polished

The Elements of Satire should, like a polished razor keen, Wound with a touch that's scarcely felt or seen. -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

Comes from the latin word satura, meaning “dish of mixed ingredients”. • A technique in which a writer ridicules or criticizes a person, group, institution or event using certain literary devices. • Usually witty. • Almost always sarcastic or ironic. • Usually has a tone of “mock-approval” – sarcastically supporting the very thing it is criticizing. How does the definition of satire relate to its latin root? • What is satire?

Forms of Satire • • Drama (Tartuffe – Moliere, The Importance of Being Earnest – Oscar Wilde ) Journalism (The Onion) Fiction (A Modest Proposal – Jonathan Swift, The Lowest Animal – Mark Twain) Poetry (The Rape of the Locke – Alexander Pope) Graphic Arts (editorial cartoons) Television programs (Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report) Music (With God on Our Side – Bob Dylan, Weird Al)

�Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update �The Daily Show �Scary Movie �Austin Powers �Political cartoons �This is Spinal Tap �Songs by Weird Al Yankovich (White and �The Simpsons Nerdy) Examples of Satire in Pop Culture

• • Sarcasm Irony Parody Burlesque Elevated word choice Puns Hyperbole/exaggeration Satirical Techniques

Pun: play on words Hyperbole: overstatement often used to show ridiculous a situation is. � Burlesque is an imitation of a person or subject by exaggeration or distortion. ◦ a frivolous subject may be treated with mock dignity ◦ a weighty subject might be handled in a trivial style ◦ character who should use formal, intelligent language speaks like a fool or a character who is portrayed as uneducated uses highly sophisticated, intelligent language. Ex: Princess Bride – “Marriage, marriage”, giant who rhymes � � � Parody mocks not a person or subject, but a specific literary work or style, by imitating features and applying them to trivial or incongruous materials. Weird Al song, Beat it ---Eat it. Methods of Satire