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Step 1
Define satire. Literary satire is the technique of drawing attention to a subject’s failings through exaggeration. An author may do this to make fun of his subject, or to make a certain moral point about society and life in general. Many times it is so subtle that a reader might mistake satire for earnest seriousness on the part of the author.
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Step 2
Recognize the difference between satire and parody. Parody is aping the style of a book, song or a movie simply to make fun of it. Satire, as a rule, chooses society or human beings as its target, is more difficult to recognize, and has a larger moral purpose in hand.
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Step 3
Recognize the author’s target. It may help to read a history book to understand what the author is writing about.
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Step 4
Learn how to recognize irony. Irony can take many forms. Verbal irony is when something is said but not meant. Situational irony is when something occurs where it logically shouldn’t. Irony forms the humorous element of satire.
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Step 5
Learn how to recognize exaggeration. Authors often use caricatures of people or places to draw attention to how foolish they are. If something seems too outlandish to be true, it’s probably satire.
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Step 6
Understand the technique of “reductio ad absurdum.” Often used to expose the absurdity of an argument, this is where an author agrees so strongly with basic attitudes or assumptions that his agreement becomes either ridiculous or disturbing.
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Step 7
If something you are reading offends you, analyze that feeling. Novelists in particular rarely hold the same beliefs as their narrators. If the main voice of a text does or says something offensive, chances are the author is drawing attention to the absurdity of those beliefs through satire.
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Step 8
Learn how to laugh. Satire is mainly a humorous literary device. Learning how to interpret an author’s subtle (or non-subtle) jabs at society will make your reading experience more rewarding.
