Question

From Geoffrey Chaucer to Jon Stewart: Understanding the Anatomy of Satire

To understand satire, students need to know the tools that satirists use. Rather than attempting to master them all, this activity will focus on the most important and most common techniques. The handout gives definitions for the following techniques that students need to know: (PLEASE DEFINE EACH TERM IN YOUR OWN WORDS)

Exaggeration & Hyperbole

Understatement

Incongruity

Reversal

Parody

Irony

Answer 1

Exaggeration & Hyperbole - hyperbole is the use of extreme exaggeration as a literary device, while exaggeration is mostly used in daily life.

Understatement - understatement is used to make an important case to appear much less important than what it actually is.

Incongruity - an incongruity is something that it doesn't make sense, something that is inappropriate.

Reversal - a reversal is used as a sudden change in a character's fortune.

Parody - parodies are meant to imitate something or someone to generate a fun response in the audience.

Irony - irony is used to express something but doing so in a contradictory manner, like using language to express the exact opposite.