Why Do Writers Use Satire?

Throughout history, writers have used humor and satire to address quite serious political and social concerns. Understanding how satire and other humorous devices function are essential to fully comprehending these writers’ aims and determining whether their works successfully accomplish their goals. satire is the literary form or technique in which a writer employs humor or irony to criticize people’s foolishness, vices, or other shortcomings. Satire may be brutal and scathing or gentle and good-natured, but it always involves a criticism that remains implicit rather than explicit, and relies on the audience recognizing the writer’s or artist’s implicit criticism. When writers attack a social ill, they must also focus on humor, exaggeration and irony. …show more content…
First, however, they must fully understand the social problem. Then, they use humor, irony and exaggeration to poke fun at the people involved in the social ill they wish to change. Satire is distinguished from other forms of humor by its specifically moral purpose. Satirical authors seek not only to shame those acting foolishly or immorally, but also to prevent this behavior on the part of their audiences or readers. Because of this, the object of satire is rarely portrayed as complex or sympathetic, which would create the risk of the audience accepting or forgiving the target’s shameful behavior. For the sake of preserving the work’s humor, the criticism found in satires is implied, and is never stated explicitly. As a result, the success of a satirical work depends on the audience recognizing this implicit criticism and ultimately agreeing with the author or artist. In effect, satirical works often flatter or congratulate their audiences for recognizing the humor, and for siding with the works’ creators in opposition to the persons, institutions, or ideas being