Satire

Satire is a special kind of art used in books, plays, movies, and even online. It points out silly or bad things people do, like mistakes or unfair actions, and makes fun of them to show how wrong they are. The goal is not just to make people laugh but to help them see problems in the world or in how people act.

People who create satire often use clever tricks like pretending to agree with something bad to show just how silly it is. They might also exaggerate things or compare them in funny ways. These tricks help make their message clear and interesting.

Satire can be found everywhere, from old stories and famous plays to modern songs, movies, and even funny pictures shared on the internet. It helps us think about important issues in a way that is both fun and thought-provoking.

Etymology and roots

The word satire comes from the Latin word satur and the phrase lanx satura. Satur means "full", and lanx satura literally means "a full dish of various kinds of fruits". Over time, the meaning of satire grew and changed.

Some people thought the word might come from the Greek mythological figure of the satyr, but this is not correct. In the 17th century, a scholar named Isaac Casaubon helped show that satire’s true origin is from the Latin word satura, not from satyrs.

Humour

Satire doesn’t just make people laugh; it makes them think, too. Even when it’s funny, good satire leaves you with something to ponder about the world. Not all satire tries to be funny—some of it is serious and thoughtful. And not all funny jokes about topics like politics or art are satire, even if they use funny styles like pretending to be silly or copying famous things in a new way.

Satire often starts with laughter but leaves a deeper message. For example, the organizers of the Ig Nobel Prize say their goal is to “first make people laugh, and then make them think.”

Social and psychological functions

Satire and irony help us understand how societies work and what people value most. They give us a clear view of a group's shared ideas and feelings, showing us how power is structured. Some writers think satire is even better than studying history or anthropology for learning about a society. For example, in ancient Greece, the philosopher Plato suggested looking at the plays of Aristophanes to understand Athenian society.

Throughout history, satire has been used to make fun of important leaders in politics, business, religion, and other powerful areas. It challenges what people commonly believe and talks back to those in charge, helping leaders explain or change their actions. Satire points out problems but doesn’t always fix them. It has often been allowed to mock powerful people and groups, helping to ease tensions in society. For example, ritual clowns express things people usually hold back, which helps keep balance in the community.

The amount of political satire in a society shows how free that society is. In places with strict control, like the Soviet Union, open satire of the government was not allowed. Instead, people told jokes about leaders like Brezhnev. Even in such places, satire found ways to express itself quietly.

Classifications

Satire is a type of art and writing that makes fun of problems, mistakes, and silly ideas in society. It can be found in books, plays, and even art. The goal is often to point out these issues in a funny way so people notice them better.

Satirical writing can be grouped in different ways. One way is by how harsh the jokes are. Some satire is gentle and playful, making fun of silly ideas without being mean. This kind is named after the writer Horace, who used humor to point out problems in ancient Rome. Another type is more serious and strict, named after Juvenal. This kind of satire strongly criticizes powerful people or bad ideas, often using strong words to make a point. There is also a mix called Menippean satire, which blends serious topics with funny, strange stories.

Satire can also be grouped by what it makes fun of, like politics, beliefs, or everyday life. It can appear in many forms, not just writing—like in music, art, and comedy performances.

Development

Ancient Egypt

One of the earliest examples of satire is found in Egyptian writing from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. The text, called The Satire of the Trades, was aimed at students who were tired of studying. It argued that being a scribe was not only useful but also much better than being an ordinary person. Some scholars believe the context was meant to be serious.

The Papyrus Anastasi I, from the late 2nd millennium BC, contains a letter that first praises its recipient but then makes fun of the reader’s limited knowledge and achievements.

Ancient Greece

The Greeks did not have a specific word for satire, though they used terms like cynicism and parody. Modern critics consider the Greek playwright Aristophanes one of the earliest known satirists. His plays often criticized political and societal issues, especially targeting powerful figures like Cleon. Aristophanes faced persecution for his work. His plays used bold and humorous styles, which were later adopted by other Greek writers.

The oldest form of satire still in use today is Menippean satire, created by Menippus of Gadara. His writings are lost, but his followers mixed serious and humorous elements in their dialogues.

Ancient China

Satire in China, known as fengci, dates back to Confucius and is mentioned in the Book of Odes. It meant criticizing through poetry. During the pre-Qin era, schools of thought used short stories called yuyan to explain their views, often with satirical content. The Daoist text Zhuangzi was the first to define this concept. However, during the Qin and Han dynasties, heavy persecution led to the decline of this form of satire.

Roman world

The Roman writer Quintilian was the first to discuss satire critically, coining the term to describe the works of Gaius Lucilius. The most influential Roman satirists were Horace and Juvenal, who wrote during the early days of the Roman Empire. Other important satirists included Gaius Lucilius and Persius. Their satire was broader than today’s definition, often including colorful and imaginative writing with little mocking intent. When Horace criticized Augustus, he used subtle and ironic language. In contrast, the poet Hipponax wrote harsh satires that offended many.

In the 2nd century AD, Lucian wrote True History, a book that made fun of unrealistic travel stories by describing an even more extreme and imaginary adventure.

Medieval Islamic world

Medieval Arabic poetry included a satirical genre called hija. Satire was introduced into Arabic prose literature by Al-Jahiz in the 9th century. He mixed serious topics with humorous anecdotes and witty observations to make his writing more engaging. In the 10th century, writer Tha’alibi recorded satirical poetry by Arabic poets As-Salami and Abu Dulaf, who praised and then mocked each other’s knowledge. Arabic political satire included poems by Jarir mocking Farazdaq.

The terms “comedy” and “satire” became linked after Aristotle’s Poetics was translated into Arabic. Islamic writers like Al-Farabi, Avicenna, and Averroes elaborated on these ideas, viewing comedy as “the art of reprehension.” Ubayd Zakani introduced satire into Persian literature in the 14th century with works that were often political or humorous.

Medieval Europe

In the Early Middle Ages, satirical songs by Goliards or vagants, collected in the Carmina Burana, were popular. With the High Middle Ages and the rise of vernacular literature, satire reappeared, notably in the works of Chaucer. Moral satire, which mocked bad behavior in Christian terms, was common. Examples include Livre des Manières by Étienne de Fougères and some of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The story Reynard the Fox became a popular work satirizing the class system, representing different classes as animals.

Early modern western satire

Satire returned in the 16th century with writers like François Rabelais addressing serious issues. Major satirists of the Renaissance included Giovanni Boccaccio and François Rabelais. Other examples include Till Eulenspiegel, Reynard the Fox, Sebastian Brant’s Narrenschiff, Erasmus’s Moriae Encomium, Thomas More’s Utopia, and Carajicomedia.

Elizabethan writers saw satire as rough and abusive, often in pamphlet form. The French scholar Isaac Casaubon helped revive the more civilized, witty style of Roman satire. In the 1590s, Hall’s Virgidemiarum introduced verse satire in English, leading to a wave of satirical works until censorship stopped the trend.

Satirical almanacs also emerged, with François Rabelais’s Pantagrueline Prognostication mocking astrological predictions, a strategy used by later almanacs like the Poor Robin series.

Ancient and modern India

Satire has been important in Indian and Hindi literature, considered one of the “ras” or flavors of literature. It grew with the printing of books in local languages and after India’s independence. Works by Tulsi Das, Kabir, Munshi Premchand, and others often used satire to mock authoritarians and incompetent leaders.

Age of Enlightenment

The Age of Enlightenment, an intellectual movement promoting rationality, led to a revival of satire in Britain. This was driven by partisan politics and the Scriblerus Club, which included satirists like Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, and John Gay. They focused on creating biting satire of institutions and individuals. Jonathan Swift, a great Anglo-Irish satirist, used sharp humor to criticize society in works like A Modest Proposal and Gulliver’s Travels. John Dryden wrote influential essays on satire, and Alexander Pope’s works like The Rape of the Lock gently mocked society.

Daniel Defoe used satire in works like The True-Born Englishman and The Shortest-Way with the Dissenters to advocate for religious toleration. William Hogarth’s pictorial satire influenced the development of political cartoons, and James Gillray became a leading cartoonist of the era.

Ebenezer Cooke and Benjamin Franklin used satire in Colonial America to shape the emerging nation’s culture.

Satire in Victorian England

Satirical papers like Punch and Fun were popular in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The Savoy Operas by Gilbert and Sullivan are enduring examples of Victorian satire. Novelists like Charles Dickens often included satirical passages in their social commentary.

Sidney Godolphin Osborne wrote bitter satirical letters to the editor of the London Times, criticizing the British government’s treatment of poor workers and its response to the Great Irish Famine and the Crimean War.

20th-century satire

Satire was used by writers like Aldous Huxley and George Orwell to comment on social changes in Europe. In the United States, satirists like Dorothy Parker and H. L. Mencken used satire as a weapon, with Mencken famously saying, “One horse-laugh is worth ten thousand syllogisms.” Sinclair Lewis’s novels satirized American values, and Charlie Chaplin’s film The Great Dictator parodied Adolf Hitler.

Soviet satire in the 1920s and 1930s was sophisticated and popular. In the 1950s, satire entered American stand-up comedy with Lenny Bruce and Mort Sahl, and Paul Krassner’s magazine The Realist became popular in the 1960s and 1970s. The original National Lampoon magazine, edited by Doug Kenney and Henry Beard, featured sharp satire.

The UK saw a satire boom in the early 1960s with comedians like Peter Cook, Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore in their hit show Beyond the Fringe. Other influences included David Frost, Eleanor Bron, and the television program That Was The Week That Was.

Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 satirized bureaucracy and the military, and is considered one of the greatest literary works of the twentieth century. Director Jerry Lewis used satire in films like The Bellboy and The Errand Boy to comment on Hollywood. The film Dr. Strangelove starred Peter Sellers and was a satire on the Cold War. The comedy troupe Monty Python created Monty Python’s Life of Brian, a satire on religion.

Severino “Nonoy” Marcelo’s 1978 Philippine adult animated comedy film Tadhana presented a satirical view of the Philippines’ history of Spanish colonization.

Contemporary satire

Contemporary satire is often imprecise in its usage. While it uses techniques like caricature and parody, not all uses of these devices are satirical. Satire appears in many UK television programs, such as panel shows and quiz shows like Mock the Week and Have I Got News for You, and radio shows like The News Quiz and The Now Show. The puppet show Spitting Image was a satire of British culture, politics, entertainment, and sport.

Satire features prominently in the British video game series Grand Theft Auto, created by DMA Design in 1997. The Fallout series, including Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game, also uses satire. Other games like Postal, State of Emergency, Phone Story, and 7 Billion Humans utilize satire.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s South Park relies heavily on satire to address issues in American culture, including racism, homophobia, sexism, environmentalism, corporate culture, political correctness, and anti-Catholicism.

Satirical web series and sites include Honest Trailers, Encyclopedia Dramatica, Uncyclopedia, The Onion, and The Babylon Bee.

In the United States, Stephen Colbert’s television program The Colbert Report and sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live are known for their satirical impressions and parodies of public figures. Colbert’s character uses logical fallacies to ridicule politicians and public figures.

In the United Kingdom, Terry Pratchett was a popular modern satirist with his Discworld series. Chris Morris is known for his satirical work, including Four Lions.

In Canada, satire is part of the comedy scene. Stephen Leacock was an early Canadian satirist, and more recent shows like CODCO, The Royal Canadian Air Farce, This Is That, and This Hour Has 22 Minutes deal with current news and politics. History Bites presents social satire through historical events. The Beaverton is a Canadian news satire site. Nancy White uses music for her satirical songs on CBC Radio.

In Hong Kong, impersonator Howard X used satire to support pro-democracy movements and criticize political figures, believing humor to be a powerful tool.

Cartoonists like Al Capp, Walt Kelly, and Garry Trudeau use satire in their comic strips to comment on political and social issues.

Animated series like The Simpsons and South Park use parody and satire to criticize various aspects of society, often with greater freedom due to their format.

News satire is popular in various media formats, including print (The Onion, Waterford Whispers News, Private Eye), radio (On the Hour), television (The Day Today, The Daily Show, Brass Eye), and the web (Faking News, El Koshary Today, Babylon Bee, The Beaverton, The Daily Bonnet, The Onion).

Satire is also recognized for its value in social science research and is used by social movements to achieve strategic goals.

Techniques

Satire in literature often builds on older works, using familiar ideas and styles. Two common ways to use satire are by making things bigger than they really are (exaggeration) or smaller and less important than they seem (diminution).

Legal status

Satire often gets special permission in many places to make fun of important people and groups. In countries like Germany, Japan, and Italy, laws protect satire as part of free expression.

Because satire is a form of art, it has more protection than regular news reporting. Some countries even have a special "right to satire" that goes beyond the right to share news or criticism. Satire is protected not just under freedom of speech, but also as part of culture and creative work.

Australia

Main article: The Juice Media § Controversy

In 2017, a group called The Juice Media got a request to stop using a funny logo that looked like the Australian Coat of Arms after some people complained. Soon after, a plan was introduced in the Australian parliament to change laws that could lead to prison time for certain satire. As of 2018, this plan was still being discussed in the Australian Senate.

Censorship and criticism

Satire can sometimes be hard for people to understand because it uses irony and sarcasm. Some people might think the satirist actually supports the ideas they are making fun of. For example, when Jonathan Swift wrote A Modest Proposal, many readers thought he was seriously suggesting eating children, which was not his real idea at all.

Sometimes people feel that satire is in bad taste, especially during sensitive times. After big events, some people think satire should not be used. Satire can also make people angry if they think they are being targeted unfairly.

Throughout history, some powerful people have tried to stop satire because they felt attacked. For example, in 1599, leaders in England banned some books that used satire. Even today, satire can cause controversy and sometimes leads to legal problems or protests.

Satirical prophecy

Sometimes, jokes made in satire can predict real events that happen later. For example, in 1784, Benjamin Franklin suggested that people in Paris could save candles by waking up earlier with the morning sun — this idea is similar to daylight saving time, which was proposed much later in 1907.

In the 1920s, an English cartoonist drew a funny picture of a tall building just for cars, which seemed silly at the time. Later, such buildings called multi-story car parks became common.

The TV show Monty Python's Flying Circus made a funny sketch in 1969 about a group of people who act like animals, much like some parts of today’s furry fandom.

The movie Americathon from 1979 made funny guesses about the future, such as problems with money, changes in China, and popular TV shows — many of which happened later.

In 2001, The Onion made a joke article saying the new president would start expensive wars, cut taxes, and cause a recession — and some of these things did happen later.

Saturday Night Live once made a funny ad for a special razor, and years later, companies really made razors just like that.

After a big agreement about nuclear weapons in 2015, The Onion jokingly said that the United States would send special weapons to a leader who was upset — and the next day, news reports said this actually happened.

The Simpsons and movies like Back to the Future Part II have also made funny jokes about political leaders long before they became famous.

The book Infinite Jest from 1996 described a made-up president who wanted to build a wall between the United States and Canada — this seemed very funny at the time, but later, similar ideas were talked about seriously.