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Satire uses humor to criticize and draw attention to flaws in society, while irony focuses on the discrepancies between what is said or seen and what is meant. Satire is a genre, while irony is a technique found in various forms of art. Satire often uses irony, but also employs other techniques such as ridicule. Irony can be used in drama, comedy, and literature. Different types of irony exist, including dramatic and Socratic irony.
Satire and irony are often closely related, but there are important distinctions between the two. A form of criticism, satire uses humor to achieve its goals. One technique used by satire is irony. Irony focuses on the discrepancies between what is said or seen and what is actually meant. Simply put, satire and irony differ largely because the one, satire, often uses the other, irony.
Both satire and irony can be found in literature, television, film, theater and even works of art. Satire, on the other hand, is a genre, while irony is a technique. The term “genre” refers to categories of written or preformed art. Drama, comedy and horror are all different genres.
While satire and irony are probably related, they are not exclusive to each other. Irony is found not only in satire, but also in dramatic and comic art. Similarly, satire also uses many other rhetorical and comic techniques, such as ridicule, to achieve its goal.
Satire is a form of comic criticism. While it sometimes uses seemingly harsh techniques, its aim is not cruelty but rather to point out the flaws in government, society, individuals, or the human condition. Satire is an attempt to draw attention to these flaws, either to encourage change or to force an awareness. Some of the most famous modern satires occur on television shows.
Just as a comedy uses jokes to make people laugh or an action movie uses explosions to excite the audience, satire uses irony to make a humorous critique. There are different kinds of irony, but they all base their humor on selective, often willful ignorance. Using words opposite to how they are intended is, perhaps, the simplest form of irony. For example, saying “It’s a great day for sunbathing” in the middle of a hurricane would be ironic.
In literature and theatre, however, dramatic irony is generally used. Dramatic irony occurs when a character is saying or doing something that is in opposition to the reality of the situation. The character is generally unaware of this fact, but the audience is aware of it. This technique is often seen in movies, plays, or literature.
Socratic irony was used by the Greek philosopher Socrates in his teachings. In this form of irony, the teacher pretends to be ignorant of a subject that a student thinks he knows. The teacher questions the student carefully, pretending that the student is the expert, to unearth flaws or inconsistencies in the student’s logic.
