Satire
- a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn
- trenchant or strong wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly
4 Common Techniques of Satire
- Exaggeration: To enlarge, increase, or represent something beyond normal bounds so that it becomes ridiculous and its faults can be seen.
- Incongruity: To present things that are out of place or are absurd in relation to its surroundings.
- Reversal: To present the opposite of the normal order (e.g., the order of events, hierarchical order).
- Parody: To imitate the techniques and/or style of some person, place, or thing.
Examples from Shrek: A Satirical View of Fairy Tales
- Exaggeration: Princess Fiona fights and successfully defeats Robin Hood and all of his Merry Men without any help and without any weapons.
- Incongruity: Princess Fiona uses her ponytail to deliver a knockout punch to one of the Merry Men. While frozen in a mid-air martial arts kick, Princess Fiona pauses to fix her disheveled hair before knocking out two of the Merry Men.
- Reversal: The roles of the hero and the damsel in distress have been reversed. In this clip, it is Princess Fiona, the rescuee, who fights and defeats the foe.
- Parody: The fight scene is an exaggerated imitation of the martial arts style and special effects used in movies such as The Matrixand Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
So, what is the primary comment or criticism from Shrek about society?
- The traditional story of the knight rescuing the damsel-in-distress is not a realistic depiction of the roles filled by men and women in modern society.
From ReadWriteThink
CLASS & HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS
Parody vs. Satire
- Examine the definitions of "parody" and "satire." I will show you a PowerPoint to help you differentiate between these two concepts.
A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift
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Has Modern Satire Lost Its Bite?Modern Satire: Point/Counterpoint |
Write Your Own Modest Propsal
a_modest_proposal_writing_assignment_14.pdf |