Satire
From The Writerium - the wiki for writers
Satire is a sub-genre of general comedy in literature that revolves around the parody, and more often than not, mockery of a given subject. Rife with witticism and particularly absurd exaggeration, satire has several sub-genres of it's own, depending on the subject under fire. It is often intentionally insulting.
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Political Satire
Once a deftly wielded weapon of political writers, political satire has largely fallen out of style since the 1900's in America, where it has been displaced by caricature, political satire remains a favorite tool of choice for angry cynics across the globe. A good example of this type of satire in the modern age is Stephen Colbert's I Am America (And So Can You), which lampoons the policies and stances of America's Conservative Republicans.
Personal Satire
A more volatile than usual form of satire, personal satire is a direct attack on an individual, and is often used as part of a larger satirical work. Personal satire is often directly insulting, and is usually used only against those who truly deserve it, like celebrities or murderous dictators. And maybe a certain President.
Genre Based Satire
Genre based satire is the parody of a given genre of literature, and often take the form of a full novel, mocking said genre. This is, surprisingly, one of the more prolific sub-genres of satire, and contains some of it's seminal works, such as The Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy by Douglas Adams which parodies, among many many other things, the genre of science fiction.
Philosophical Satire
Philosophical satire lampoons actual ideas, working it's way deep into the human psychology for a way to make you laugh and possibly cry at the same time. The Hitchhikers Guide uses this heavily, as do the Discworld series of books, by Terry Pratchett. Common concepts include:
-Death
-The Rat Race
-Democracy
-Death (seriously,it gets used a lot)
-Communism
-War
-The Work Day
-Existentialism
-Popular Entertainment
And so on.
