top of page

IRONY and SATIRE

SATIRE

Horatian - satire in which the voice is indulgent, tolerant, amused, and witty.  The speaker holds up to gentle ridicule the absurdities and follies of human beings, aiming at producing in the reader not the anger of a Juvenal, but a wry smile.

Juvenalian - formal satire in which the speaker attacks vice and error with contempt and indignation  Juvenalian satire in its realism and its harshness is in strong contrast to Horatian satire.

Menippean - satire that attacks mental attitudes and biases rather than specific individuals or groups; tends to involve cheerful, intellectual humor and gentle ridicule

SATIRICAL ELEMENTS

Verbal Irony - The speaker intends to be understood as meaning something that contrasts with the literal or usual meaning of what he says.  The different sorts of discrepancy between the meaning of what is said and what is in fact on the particular occasion meant with it give rise to different kinds of verbal irony.  Sarcasm is particularly cutting verbal irony.
Dramatic Irony - a discrepancy between a speaker's understanding of the full situation and the situation as some audience understands it. 

Situational Irony - occurs in literature and in drama when persons and events come together in improbable situations, creating a tension between expected and real results.

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.

Overstatement - the meaning that ordinarily attaches to what is said is an exaggeration of what the speaker uses it to mean. 

Understatement - Restraint or lack of emphasis in expression, as for rhetorical effect

Burlesque - A literary or dramatic work that ridicules a subject either by presenting a solemn subject in an undignified style or an inconsequential subject in a dignified style.
Parody - A composition that imitates the serious manner and characteristic features of a particular work, or the distinctive style of its maker, and applies the imitation to a lowly or comically inappropriate subject.  

​

Figurative Language, etc
​

​​

​​

  • TEXT STRUCTURES

    • DESCRIPTION - Describes a topic by listing
      characteristics, features, attributes, and examples

    • PROBLEM/SOLUTION - Identify problems
      and pose solutions

    • CHRONOLOGICAL - Present ideas or
      events in the chronological order in which they
      happen

    • COMPARE & CONTRAST - Discuss two ideas, events, or phenomena, showing how they are different and how they are similar

    • CAUSE & EFFECT - Provide explanations or reasons for phenomena

    • ORDER & SEQUENCE - Presents ideas or events in the correct order or sequence in which they occur (can be separated by large spans of time)

​​

Rhetorical Devices

  • Ethos: the establishment of authority and reliability and is used gain the confidence and trust of the audience.

  • Pathos:  feelings accentuated by experiencing love hate, fear etc. An appeal to emotion is used to engage with an audience and create an emotional response.

  • Logos:  the power of the mind to think and form judgments logically; it is used to appeal to the rationality of an audience.

  • Rhetorical Questions: statements which are voiced as questions but are not expected to be answered; they are used to imply certain answers and draw audiences to certain conclusions.

  • Repetition: the re-occurrence of certain words or phrases and it is used to emphasize certain ideas, and make them more memorable.

  • Rule of Three: groups of 3 adjectives or phrases are used to make ideas memorable.

  • Exaggeration: representation of something as greater than is actually the case and is used to grab the attention of the audience and emphasize certain points.

  • Scapegoating: the practice of singling out a person or group for unmerited blame and consequent negative treatment.

bottom of page