7 Satire Techniques With Tips
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Satire is a writing style that often educates and entertains its readers. You might write satire if you work for newspapers or media outlets, create your own fiction or nonfiction writing or simply want to add elements of exaggeration and humor into your professional writing. Knowing the most effective satire techniques can help connect you with your readers or gain a new audience who enjoys that style of writing.
In this article, we discuss what satire is, who uses it and list seven techniques and tips to use this style of writing effectively.
What is satire?
Satire is the use of literary devices such as humor, exaggeration or irony to educationally criticize someone or something. Public figures, politicians, political groups, prominent philosophies and popular culture are some of the most common targets of satire. Satire is a way to provide social commentary, and you can use satire in various literary genres such as comics, novels, short stories, poetry and humorous news articles or essays.
Here are the three main types of satire:
Horatian: Horatian is satire aimed at flaws in humans rather than societal issues. Its primary goal is often to entertain based on relatable topics rather than to educate on larger issues.
Juvenalian: Juvenalian satire is often political satire used to expose flaws, injustices or other problems in a society or group of people. It's often more serious in tone than Horatian satire.
Menippean: Menippean satire is writing that targets people's attitudes. It's similar to Horatian satire, as it's focused on an individual, but its serious tone is more similar to Juvenalian satire.
Who uses satire?
Professional writers in any genre might use satire. If you're a professional writer, consider using satire to comment on relevant topics using techniques such as parody. Satire provides your audience with information often disguised as entertainment or silly content. Newspaper writers might include a satire section, and comic writers, essayists and novelists are some of the most common professionals to use satire. Read More…