Satire Terms

understatement

saying less than you mean for ironic effect

hyperbole

an extreme exaggeration for comedic effect

bathos

the sudden appearance of the commonplace in otherwise elevated matter or style; anticlimax

verbal irony

saying one thing but meaning another (more light-hearted)

dramatic irony

the contrast between what the character thinks to be true and what we (the readers) know to be true

situational irony

contrast between what happens and what was expected

comic relief

comic episodes in a dramatic or literary work that offset more serious sections; designed to relieve tension and deflate seriousness

euphemism

the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant

litotes

negative understatement that affirms an idea

paradox

a statement that seems contradictory but on closer inspection contains truth

parody

an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect

malapropism

the usually unintentional misuse or distortion of a word or phrase

sarcasm

saying one thing but meaning another (typically caustic/rude)

satire

writing that pokes fun at humans and society; points out the follies and failings of man

antiphrasis

to use a word or phrase in a way that is contrary to its normal meaning

metonymy

substituting a related word (often an attribute of the object) for the actual name of something

synecdoche

a part of something represents the whole

synesthesia

describing one kind of sensation in terms of another ("a loud color", "a sweet sound")