The Satirist’s Tools:Irony and, like, Stuff Like That

{It's like rain on your wedding dayIt's a free ride when you've already paidIt's the good advice that you just didn't take

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Irony

A situation turns out differently that what we expect Expectations are shattered Often involves a reversal, a completely opposite resolution

than what we originally expected Example: A love story that ends with the death of the

characters instead of a “happily ever after” ending, e.g., Romeo and Juliet

Situational Irony

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Situational irony and reversalThink of Shirley Jackson’s “twist ending”– and ending that you get but you don’t necessarily expect.

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Incongruity- a situation where something seems out of place or incompatible with what is expected

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A character says one thing but means something else

Verbal irony is intentional: the character knows s/he means something else

Example: In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet tells her father that she will marry Paris – but she is lying to him.

Sarcasm is a type of verbal irony that is designed to be hurtful

Example: Your mama is so fat that when she sits around the house, she sits AROUND the house!

Verbal Irony

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Sarcasm- verbal irony that is often cutting and intended to give pain to the person addressed

•Not the brightest crayon in the box now, are we?•This isn’t an office. It’s Hell with fluorescent lighting.•Make yourself at home! Clean my kitchen.•I LOVE your dress. I didn’t know they sold TENTS at Nieman Marcus now!

The audience knows more than at least one of the characters in the text.

Example: In a slasher movie, the audience knows that the murderer is in the basement; the baby sitter, however, thinks one of the kids is playing a trick on her.

In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo thinks Juliet is dead and stabs himself

Dramatic Irony

Less commonly used A character says something that unintentionally and

inadvertently reveals a negative character trait. Example: Dumb blond jokes Example: Holden Caulfield hates it when others

swear, yet he swears liberally – he is a hypocrite.

Self-revealing irony

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Socratic irony- pretended ignorance in a discussion in order to question someone closely and get to the core of their beliefs

“Explain to me what you mean, young pupil. For I feign ignorance and I do not fully understand you”

Often used as a tool by teachers.

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AllusionReference to one of the following:

(a) a historical event(b) a previous work of literature (often

Shakespeare or the Bible)

You met your Waterloo on this chemistry test!

My Latin teacher is such a little Hitler!

This project is just one more cross I have to bear.

{A form of humor that regards human suffering as absurd rather than pitiable—often to a comic end.

disturbing effect

 

Black humour

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Caricature- exaggeration which is achieved by distorting parts or characteristics; a graphic parody

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Euphemism- the substitution of a bland, inoffensive word or phrase for one which is considered offensive or unpleasant

•“Giving the time” in Catcher in the Rye for “having sex”.

•"Wardrobe malfunction"(Justin Timberlake's description of his tearing of Janet Jackson's costume during a half-time performance at Super Bowl XXXVIII)

•My grandfather passed away (as opposed to “My grandfather died.”)

-For English class, we had to read like, 80 pages of this book (when in reality the speaker was assigned 25).-In Japan we saw all of these famous people. We saw Angelina Jolie, her bodyguards, and all of these people (when in reality the speaker only saw Angelina Jolie).

Exaggeration- enlargement beyond the bounds of truth; overstatement

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Hyperbole- intended overstatement or exaggeration, used for effect•She’s as big as an elephant!•I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.•I have more homework than anyone in the world.•I can’t hang out this weekend; I have a million things to do.

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Intent- the purpose or aim of an author or work-to convey a personal/political/social message-to bring about a proposal for change- to poke fun at a celebrity

Tone- the writer or speaker’s attitude toward the subject; emotional coloring of a work-happy, sad, serious, indifferent, mellow, enthusiastic, passionate

 

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Send-up- an entertaining or humorous parody or takeoff(another word for parody or spoof)

Spoof- a mocking imitation of something, usually light and good-humored; parody

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Target- the person, belief, action or situation that the author intends to draw attention to and criticize

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Understatement- a statement that is restrained, in ironic contrast to what could have been said

-After two weeks of stormy, wet weather, a friend from out of town asks if it has been rainy. Your response is, “A little.”

-A girl arrives to school one day wearing a cast on her right arm. Her teacher asks, “What happened??!” The girl responds, “Nothing. It’s just a scratch.”