Elements of Satire: (All Satire falls under Comedy of Ideas)

1. Elements of Satire: (All Satire falls under Comedy of Ideas) Satire—a comedic form intended to ridicule human folly and vice thereby provoking or preventing social change. Irony—stating the opposite of what you mean for humorous effect. Sarcasm—stating the opposite of what you mean for humorous effect with the intention to hurt someone’s feelings. Ridicule—Extreme sarcasm. You want to smack the victim into the ground with humor! Exaggeration--enlarging the characteristics of something to mock it. Hyperbole—extreme exaggeration. Caricature—enlarging the characteristics of a person to ridicule them. Almost always used against politicians on Saturday Night Live. Stereotype—exaggeration of the general characteristics of a group. Parody—exaggerating the conventions of a genre such as mocking soap operas for being melodramatic.

2. Understatement—A form of irony in which something is intentionally represented as less than it is: “Hank Aaron was a pretty good ball player.” Litotes—extreme understatement. For example: “It’s nothing serious, I just have this tiny little tumor on the brain.” from Catcher in the Rye Related Terms: Virtue—the good behaviors and beliefs of people. Vice—the bad behaviors of people. Crime, gambling, and drinking are generally referred to as vices. Folly—The incompetence and stupidity of people.