Rhetoric & FiguresIntermediate
Satire
Ridicule or distortion used to expose vice, folly, or corruption.
Principle
Satire entertains by judging.
Takeaways
- It needs a target and a standard of judgement.
- Satire may be comic, savage, playful, or bleak.
- If the target is unclear, satire can look like endorsement.
Overview
Satire uses humour, exaggeration, irony, parody, or grotesque distortion to criticize people, institutions, habits, or systems. It depends on a felt gap between what is and what should be.
Examples
- A bureaucracy is exaggerated until its cruelty becomes visible as procedure.
- A polite dinner scene exposes an entire class system.