Satiric Devices

CARACATURE A picture, description, etc.,

ludicrously exaggerating the peculiarities or defects of persons or things.

HYPERBOLE Exaggeration for the sake of

emphasis in a figure of speech not meant literally.

• Example: I am so hungry I can eat a horse. Thomas runs faster than a speeding bullet. I think I have over a billion texts today!

UNDERSTATEMENT a rhetorical figure by which something

is referred to in terms less important than it really deserves.• This “lessening” takes something very

impressive and describes it with simplicity.

IRONY A subtly humorous perception of

inconsistency, in which an apparently straightforward statement or event is undermined by its context so as to give it a very different significance.

IRONY (cont.)DRAMATIC IRONY occurs when the readers or

audience know something the characters do not

COSMIC or SITUATIONAL IRONY exists when the outcome of the situation is the opposite of what someone expected

VERBAL IRONY: SARCASM/ MOCKERY exists when a person says one thing while

meaning another; a contrast between what is said and meant

Harsh or bitter derision or irony.

WIT A much-debated term with a number of

meanings ranging from the general notion of ‘intelligence’ through the more specific ‘ingenuity’ or ‘quickness of mind’ to the narrower modern idea of amusing verbal cleverness.

ALLUSION An indirect or passing reference to some event,

person, place, or artistic work, the nature and relevance of which its not explained by the writer but relies on the reader’s familiarity with what is thus mentioned. • Example

He is my Romeo and I am his Juliet.

JUXTAPOSITION A placing close together or side-by-

side, esp. for comparison or contrast.

 HORATIAN The author mildly pokes fun at a

subject. Gentle urbane, smiling; aims to

correct by gentle and broadly sympathetic laughter.

JUVENALIAN The author mercilessly criticizes

certain practices or characters. Biting, bitter, angry it points with

contempt and moral indignation to the corruption and evil of people and institutions.

PARODY A literary or artistic work that

imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule