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Satire

Satire is a literary technique used to criticize foolishness and corruption in individuals or society through humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule, aiming to provoke improvement. It serves to expose societal vices and change public opinion rather than simply entertain. Notable examples of satire include political cartoons and television shows like The Daily Show, as well as literary works such as Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, which critiques political rivalries of its time.

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36 views1 page

Satire

Satire is a literary technique used to criticize foolishness and corruption in individuals or society through humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule, aiming to provoke improvement. It serves to expose societal vices and change public opinion rather than simply entertain. Notable examples of satire include political cartoons and television shows like The Daily Show, as well as literary works such as Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, which critiques political rivalries of its time.

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Satire

Satire Definition

Satire is a technique employed by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an
individual or a society, by using humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule. It intends to improve
humanity by criticizing its follies and foibles. A writer in a satire uses fictional characters, which stand
for real people, to expose and condemn their corruption.

A writer may point a satire toward a person, a country, or even the entire world. Usually, a satire is a
comical piece of writing which makes fun of an individual or a society, to expose its stupidity and
shortcomings. In addition, he hopes that those he criticizes will improve their characters by
overcoming their weaknesses.

Function of Satire

The role of satire is to ridicule or criticize those vices in society the writer considers to be a threat to
civilization. The writer considers it his obligation to expose these vices for the betterment of
humanity. Therefore, the function of satire is not to make others laugh at persons or ideas they make
fun of. It intends to warn the public, and to change people’s opinions about the prevailing corruption
and conditions in society.

Satire and Irony

Satire and irony are interlinked. Irony is the difference between what is said or done, and what is
actually meant. Therefore, writers frequently employ satire to point at the dishonesty and silliness of
individuals and society and criticize them by ridiculing them.

Most political cartoons we see every day in newspapers and magazines are examples of satire. These
cartoons criticize some recent actions of political figures in a comical way.

Some shows on television are satire examples, such as The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and The
Larry Sanders Show. These shows claim to target what they think are stupid political and social
viewpoints.

Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver Travels is one of the finest satirical works in English Literature. Swift
relentlessly satirizes politics, religion, and Western culture. Criticizing party politics in England, Swift
writes:

“…that for above seventy Moons past there have been two struggling Parties in this Empire, under
the Names of Tramecksan and Slamecksan from the high and low Heels on their shoes, by which they
distinguish themselves.”

During Swift’s times, two rival political parties, the Whigs and the Tories, dominated the English
political scene. Similarly, “The Kingdom of Lilliput” is dominated by two parties distinguished by the
size of the heels of their boots. By the trivial disputes between the two Lilliputian parties, Swift
satirizes the minor disputes of the two English parties of his period.

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