Satire
Satire uses ridicule, irony, or exaggeration to expose and criticize human folly, institutions, or social practices.
Irony: A contrast between an apparent meaning or expectation and the meaning or outcome that emerges. Satire often lets a gap between words and reality expose its target.
Gulliver’s Travels: Jonathan Swift’s 1726 novel follows Lemuel Gulliver through imaginary societies that satirize politics, science, and human nature. Its invented societies let Swift expose both political absurdity and human self-importance.
Aristophanes: An ancient Greek comic playwright whose surviving plays ridicule political figures, public ideas, and social customs. His comedies establish an early dramatic tradition of direct public mockery.
Comedy: A dramatic or literary mode that treats subjects humorously and often resolves conflict happily. Satire is a critical mode that can use comedy without sharing comedy’s broader range of aims.
Censorship: The suppression or restriction of expression by authorities, institutions, or other powers. Satirical attacks on authority can provoke efforts to suppress their circulation.
Parody: An imitation of a recognizable work, style, or genre that highlights or mocks its features. Imitating a target’s style can reveal its habits as absurd.
A Modest Proposal: Jonathan Swift’s 1729 pamphlet uses a monstrous proposal to condemn English policies toward impoverished Ireland. Its deadpan voice makes the cruelty of political calculation unmistakable.
Horace: A Roman poet whose Satires portray human faults through conversational wit and measured humor. His humane, amused style gave Horatian satire its name.
Farce: A comic form built on improbable situations, rapid action, and exaggerated behavior. Farce prioritizes absurd action, while satire directs exaggeration toward criticism.
Political cartoon: An illustration that comments on political events or public figures, often through caricature and symbolism. Visual satire compresses criticism into images that can circulate widely.