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AP Language Satire Terms Flashcards

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13224294766BurlesqueA form of comedy characterized by ridiculous exaggeration and distortion.0
13224294767Caricaturea verbal description, the purpose of which is to grossly exaggerate or distort, for comic effect, a person's distinctive physical features or other characteristics.1
13224294768Double entendre:a word or phrase having a double meaning, especially when the second meaning is risqué.2
13224294769Farce:exciting laughter through exaggerated, improbable situations.3
13224294770Horatian Satire:Named for the Roman satirist Horace, this satire is meant to " delight and instructs," using laughter and ridicule to highlight human foibles in a fairly gentle, non-accusatory manner.4
13224294771Humor:according to Henri Bergson, [laughter] consists in describing "with scrupulous minuteness what is being done and pretend[ing] to believe that this is precisely what ought to be done." The "humor" results from the incongruity (gap, lack of fit) between the seriousness of the situation described and the apparent indifference or detachment of the narrator.5
13224294772Black Humorextreme version of humor. Adopting a neutral or even upbeat tone (attitude of narrator to subject matter), the author describes without emotion situations that are obviously atrocious as if they were perfectly normal. The reader's horrified reaction is much stronger than it would be if the narrator expressed indignation or disgust.6
13224294773Hyperbole:A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement.7
13224294774Black Humorextreme version of humor. Adopting a neutral or even upbeat tone (attitude of narrator to subject matter), the author describes without emotion situations that are obviously atrocious as if they were perfectly normal. The reader's horrified reaction is much stronger than it would be if the narrator expressed indignation or disgust.8
13224294775Irony:The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant, or the difference between what appears to be and what is actually true.9
13224294776Verbal irony:carries two meanings: the explicit or apparent meaning and a second, often mocking meaning running counter to the first.10
13224294777Structural irony:Structural irony is built into texts in such a way that both the surface meaning and deeper implications are present more or less throughout.11
13224294778Dramatic irony:It refers to a situation in which the audience has knowledge denied to one or more of the characters on stage.12
13224294779Cosmic or Situational irony:This refers to writing in which life, or God, or fate, or some other powerful force seems to be manipulating events in a way that mocks all the efforts of the protagonist. (A pickpocket gets pickpocketed, a firehouse burns down)13
13224294780Juvenalian Satire:Harsher, more pointed, perhaps intolerant satire typified by the writings of Juvenal. Attacks vice and error with contempt, realist and harsh in contrast to Horatian Satire.14
13224294781Parody:A satiric imitation of a work or of an author with the idea of ridiculing the author, his ideas, or work. A variety of Burlesque.15
13224294782Sarcasm:A form of verbal irony, expressing sneering, personal disapproval in the guise of praise.16
13224294783Understatement:Expressing an idea with less emphasis or in a lesser degree than is the actual case. Opposite of hyperbole.17

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