Satire and Social Criticism — Flashcards

Grade 11 · English · Flashcards

Key terms and concepts for satire and social criticism in 11th grade English.

Flashcards

Satire: A literary mode using humor, irony, and exaggeration to criticize and expose human vices or social problems
Horatian Satire: Gentle, playful satire that gently mocks human weakness with a light, forgiving tone
Juvenalian Satire: Harsh, bitter satire that attacks moral corruption and vice with anger and outrage
Verbal Irony: Saying the opposite of what one means — the basis of sarcasm
Dramatic Irony: When the audience knows something a character in the story does not
Situational Irony: When the actual outcome of a situation is the opposite of what was expected
Hyperbole: Deliberate and extreme exaggeration used for emphasis or comic effect
Litotes: Deliberate understatement, often expressing a positive through a negative ('not bad')
Parody: Comic imitation of a specific work, author, or genre to achieve satirical effect
A Modest Proposal: Swift's 1729 satirical essay suggesting eating Irish babies — a Juvenalian attack on British policy
Huckleberry Finn: Twain's novel using Huck's moral reasoning to satirize the hypocrisy of slavery and Southern society
Social Criticism: The practice of analyzing and critiquing social structures, norms, and institutions in literature