Satire is rather hard to navigate because it is layered and most of what is REALLY BEING SAID is implied. If the reader is unable to make the correct inferences, the satirical elements are often overlooked and misunderstood.
Just as there is a double text in irony in general -- a surface text where the author's apparent meaning is present and a subtext where his or her real meaning can be inferred -- so too is there a double text in satire. If a reader only sees the surface, s/he is literally missing the point. |
Satire // The Basics
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The Persona: The person or character the author pretends to be in the satire
The Persona’s Purpose(s): The action or effect the Persona LITERALLY wants his/her audience to understand and/or do after experiencing the piece
The Author’s Purpose: The REAL ACTUAL message the author wants his/her audience to understand and/or do after experiencing the satirical work.
This is basically where the reader is able to infer and identify the social issue(s) the author is exploring in conjunction with his/her criticism.
Bottom line, even though there may be moral and logical solutions to the problem of Irish poverty, readers need to recognize that the condition of the Irish poor is more to be laid at the door of the British oppressors than ascribed to the failures of these people; therefore,domestic (and trade) policies should be changed. Knowing the spectrum, allows you to create a Satirical Flow Chart that will hopefully help you in understanding the author's goals in producing a satirical piece. *The ideas in this section were modified based on activities and information developed by Timm Frietas. |
Directions: Create a chart that looks like the one below. On it, fill in the information that corresponds with each row. Some of the rows have been partially filled in for you to give you an idea of what I'm looking for.
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Title and Author
(Name of the work and the individual who actually wrote the piece) |
Jonathan Swift
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Absurdities, Incongruities, and their Rhetorical Strategies (with supporting, properly cited text)
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Absurdity
Mr. Proposer compares women and children to agricultural commodities, specifically breeding animals. Evidence #1:
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Persona’s Purpose(s) found within the piece
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Purpose
In suggesting that the Irish be treated as a food source, the Proposer suggests that the value of a human life is only tied to its tangible profitability. |
Author’s Implied, Satirical Purpose(s):
the social issue(s) and accompanying criticism |
Unlike his fictional persona Mr. Proposer, Jonathan Swift actually implies that...and also that...because...
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Using the above chart, and following template, construct topic sentences for each of your examples. You should notice that this allows you to navigate the entire satirical spectrum. (You will have 3 topic sentences)
Template In (Title) (author) constructs (Speaker—if identifiable) (Rhetorical Strategy based on absurdity/incongruity found in the text), suggesting (persona’s purpose), in order to expose (author’s purpose: the actual social criticism). Example:, In “A Modest Proposal,” Jonathan Swift constructs a speaker who compares women and children to agricultural commodities, suggesting that the value of human life is only tied to its tangible profitability, in order to expose that poor women and children are dehumanized and considered worthless in the eyes of the rich and ruling class.) |