Transcript Satire - PBworks

SATIRE
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Satire
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A literary work that
ridicules its subject
through the use of
techniques such as
exaggeration,
reversal, incongruity,
and/or parody in
order to make a
comment or criticism
about it.
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A piece of satire will
have an underlying
lesson or unwritten
moral
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Why Satire?
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On the surface it appears to make fun of
someone or something and is intended to make
us laugh
Below the surface, the author is attacking
someone or something that he or she doesn’t
agree with.
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Where Satire?
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Satire can be found in literature, plays
commentary, and media
It has been used as a literary device for
thousands of years;
 To
encourage political and cultural change (ex: to
criticize kings, or religious laws)
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Satire : Historical Example
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In 1729 Jonathon Swift wrote a piece titled, A
Modest Proposal
The subtitle was “For Preventing The Children of
Poor People in Ireland
From Being A burden to Their Parents or Country,
and For Making Them Beneficial to The Public”
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A Modest Proposal : On the Surface
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Of course, a mother can feed her child for one year with breast milk. But
after that, she must beg food for the child. However, I [the writer of the
essay] have a modest proposal to solve this problem. Here it is:
I have been told by a knowledgeable American that a year-old-infant is
a “most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed,
roasted, baked, or boiled. . . .” Therefore, I suggest that of the 120,000
new infants of poor parents, 20,000 be reserved for breeding and the
rest be sold to people of quality.
The skin from babies can be used to make gloves for women and boots
for men.
Women will take excellent care of their newly born infants, for they will
want their babies to be plump and healthy when it comes time to sell
them.
Men would become as fond of their wives, during the time of their
pregnancy, as they are now of their mares in foal; they will no longer
beat or kick them (as is too frequent a practice) for fear of a miscarriage.
Only young, tender children would be sold. Older boys, with years of
exercise that develops their muscles, would be too tough to eat. Older
girls would be so close to childbearing age that it would be best to let
them breed.
An extremely important part of my proposal is that it would eliminate
the need to raise taxes to support the poor, thereby enabling the rich to
continue to enjoy all of their luxuries. In addition, English landlords
would not have to show mercy to their Irish tenants. In turn, the Irish
tenants would have enough money to pay their high rents, thanks to the
sale of their children.
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A Modest Proposal : Below the Surface
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Many Irish worked farms owned by the English who
charged high rents, so high that the Irish were frequently
unable to pay them. Consequently, many Irish farming
families lived on the edge of starvation.
In A Modest Proposal, Swift satirizes the English landlords
with outrageous humor. He suggests that Irish babies be
sold as food at the age of one, when they are plump and
healthy. This will give the Irish a new source of money and
the English a new food product.
Swift also satirizes the Irish themselves in his essay, for too
many of them had accepted abuse stoically rather than
speaking out.
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Satire : Incongruity
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To present things that are out of place or are
absurd in relation to its surroundings.
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Satire : Reversal
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To present
the
opposite of
the normal
order (e.g.,
the order
of events,
hierarchical
order).
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Satire : Exaggeration
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To enlarge, increase, or represent something beyond
normal bounds so that it becomes ridiculous and its
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faults can be seen.
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Guns in the Schools: A threat to your child’s safety or a valuable teaching aid?
“Six ATF agents are closing on your position. You have 3 bullets left in the clip and one in
the pipe. How many agents can you take out before you’ll need to reload?
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Satire : Parody
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To imitate the techniques and/or style of some
person, place, or thing.
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Lady Catherine:
“Do You Know Who I Am?”
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The characters of Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine de
Bourgh, while exasperating, are also immensely
entertaining.
Austen excels at satire and provides the reader of
Pride and Prejudice with a witty commentary on social
class.
You will find textual examples of Austen's ridicule of
Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine in Volume 3 and
record it in a Double Entry Diary (DED).
Next Tuesday you will create your own visual satires
of one of these characters (Rubrics and Directions
provided next week).
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