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Satire is a literary technique of writing or art which exposes the follies of its subject (for example, individuals, organizations, or states) to ridicule, often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change. In Celtic societies, it was thought a bard's satire could have physical effects, similar to a curse. The humor of such a satire tends to be subtle, using irony and deadpan humor liberally. Most satire has specific, readily identifiable targets; however there is also a less focused, formless genre known as Menippean satire.

There are two fundamental types of satire: Horatian satire, which is gentle and urbane; and Juvenalian satire, which is biting, bitter invective. The burlesque form of satire can also be segregated into two distinct categories: High burlesque, or taking subject matter which is crude in nature and treating it in a lofty style, or low burlesque, taking subject matter traditionally dealt with in an epic or poetic fashion and degrading it.

The following commentary on satire is illuminating:

"Satire is a mode of challenging accepted notions by making them seem ridiculous. It usually occurs only in an age of crisis, when there exists no absolute uniformity but rather two sets of beliefs. Of the two sets of beliefs, one holds sufficient power to suppress open attacks on the established order, but not enough to suppress a veiled attack.

"Further, satire is intimately connected with urbanity and cosmopolitanism, and assumes a civilized opponent who is sufficiently sensitive to feel the barbs of wit leveled at him. To hold something up to ridicule presupposes a certain respect for reason, on both sides, to which one can appeal. An Age of Reason, in which everyone accepts the notion that conduct must be reasonable, is, therefore, a general prerequisite for satire."

--J. Bronowski & B. Mazlish, The Western Intellectual Tradition From Leonardo to Hegel, p. 252 (1960; as repub. in 1993 Barnes & Noble ed.).

Contents 1 History of satire 2 Satire in pop culture and public media 3 Notable satires and satirists 4 External links

History of satire

In western European literature, satire has been an accepted form of social commentary since the 5th century B.C., principally in the form of plays and poetry. Aristophanes, a Greek playwright, is one of the best known early satirists. Other prominent satirists from antiquity include Horace and Juvenal, who were active during the early days of the Roman Empire and are the two most influential Latin satirists.

There are few examples of satire from the Early Middle Ages; with the advent of the High Middle Ages and the birth of modern vernacular literature in the 12th century, it began to make a comeback. However, direct satirization of public figures was rare and heavy use was made of allegories; literary figures were occasionally satirized, but rarely actual people or institutions.

More direct social commentary via satire did not return until the 16th century, when farcical texts such as the works of Rabelais tackled more serious issues (and incurred the wrath of the crown as a result). But the greatest satirists emerged with the Age of Enlightenment, an intellectual movement in the 17th and 18th century advocating rationality. Here, astute and biting satirization of institutions and individuals became a popular weapon. Foremost among these is Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), arguably the greatest prose satirist in the English language.

In the 19th century, Mark Twain became the best-known American satirist, publishing satires in a variety of forms, including news satire and full-length books.

In the 20th century, satire has been used by authors such as Aldous Huxley and George Orwell to make serious and even frightening commentaries on the dangers of the sweeping social changes taking place throughout Europe. A more humorous brand of satire enjoyed a renaissance in the UK in the early 1960s with the Satire Boom, led by such luminaries as Peter Cook, Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller, David Frost, Eleanor Bron and Dudley Moore and the television programme That Was The Week That Was. It continues to be a popular form of social commentary and expression today, although there is an increasing perception that satire must be explicitly humorous (which has not always been the case).

Satire in pop culture and public media

Some works of satire are subtle enough in their exaggeration that they still seem believable to many people. The satiric nature of these works may be lost on the public at large, and there have been instances where the author or producers of a satirical work have been harshly criticized as a result. In 2001 the British television network Channel 4 aired a special edition of the spoof current affairs series Brass Eye, which was intended to mock and satirize the fascination of modern journalism with child molestors and pedophiles. The TV network received an enormous number of complaints from members of the public, who were outraged that the show would mock a subject considered by many to be too "serious" to be the subject of humor. The movie This is Spinal Tap, a spoof of rockumentaries, about a fictitious hard rock band was mistaken for non-fiction by some critics.

On occasion, satire can cause social change when used to make a political or social point (although simply revealing absurdities to the public, as opposed to the quality of the satire, may be the actual cause of any consequences). For instance, the comic strip Doonesbury satirized a Florida county that had a racist law that minorities had to have a passcard in the area; the law was soon repealed with an act nicknamed the Doonesbury Act. In the 2000 Canadian federal election campaign, a Canadian Alliance proposal for a mechanism to require a referendum in response to a petition of sufficient size was satirized by the television show This Hour Has 22 Minutes so effectively that it was discredited and soon dropped.

Many modern comedy TV shows use satire to some extent, especially animated comedies such as The Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy and Futurama which can easily use images of public figures and generally have greater latitude than conventional shows using actors. One episode of the 2005 Doctor Who series "Bad Wolf" satirised what might happen if reality TV shows got out of hand and ended up in people getting killed for entertainment.

Satire and parody are also popular forms of expression on the internet; one of the most prominent examples is the news satire site The Onion. Individuals are picking up the idea and exploiting the genre through their Blogs.

Notable satires and satirists

• Ovid The Art of Love
• Juvenal (c. A.D. 55-140) - 16 Satires
• Charles Dickens - A Tale of Two Cities
• Petronius (c. A.D. 55-140) - Satirae
• Lucian of Samosata (c. A.D. 160) - True History and "Alexander"
• Nigel of Canterbury - Speculum Stultorum (Mirror for Fools), 12th c. satire of monks and universities
• De Nugis Curialibus (The Courtiers' Jests), 12th c. satire of life at court in England
• Jonathan Swift - A Tale of a Tub, Gulliver's Travels and A Modest Proposal.
• damali ayo rent-a-negro.com and How to Rent a Negro
• Alexander Pope - Rape of the Lock
• Bill Hicks - The late Hicks was a revolutionary satirist and stand-up comedian.
• Voltaire - Candide, satirizing optimism
• Erasmus - In Praise of Folly, a satire of corruption in clergymen.
• George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four, a dystopia, a form of literature which also commonly satirizes.
• Montesquieu - Persian Letters
• George Orwell - Animal Farm, satire of Stalinist Russia
• Anatole France - Penguin Island, a utopia
• Aldous Huxley - Brave New World, a dystopia
• Mark Twain - Later works, notably The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg
• Flannery O'Connor - Wise Blood, satirizing contemporary religious attitudes
• Thomas Nast - Political cartoons against Boss Tweed
• Stanley Kubrick - Movies Doctor Strangelove.
• Dario Fo - Accidental Death of an Anarchist
• le Canard Enchaîné publishes satirical cartoons and columns along with well-researched information on French political or economic life.
• Private Eye publishes satirical cartoons and columns along with well-researched information on British political or economic life.
• Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Cat's Cradle is a political satire, adopting a sci-fi motif.
• Geoffrey Chaucer - Canterbury Tales, a satire of society, hypocricy, and the Church.
• Paul Fericano - Sinatra, Sinatra, a satire on conservatism in America.
• Yossarian Universal News Service or YU News Service, a parody news and disinformation syndicate.
• The Onion and The Daily Show, satires of the American news media
• The Landover Baptist Church - Internet parody of Christian fundamentalism
• Don DeLillo - White Noise, satire of consumerism and modern society
• Witold Gombrowicz - Ferdydurke, satire of modern society
• Father of the Pride, an animated satire which criticises many different aspects of society in its one season.
• Joseph Heller - Catch-22, novel, satire of the military, war, consumerism, capitalism and communism.
• Richard Condon - The Manchurian Candidate, novel, satire of Cold War paranoia and patriotism
• Joseph Addison - The Spectator
• George Ouzounian- Also known as Maddox, internet satirist, best known for being the creator of The Best Page in the Universe
• The Seattle Raptor- Insight, News and Humor - a satirical news source located in Seattle, WA.

External links

• The Purpose and Method of Satire

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