by Michael Raymond

Created on: June 23, 2009   Last Updated: February 02, 2010

A Razor Keen



First and foremost, to write effective satire, you should never state "This is satire" or words to that effect. By doing so, you have already lessened the impact, dulled the cutting edge of the razor, and given your audience the opportunity to turn a deaf ear to your voice.

Juvenal, a Roman poet who lived almost 2000 years ago, wrote several poetic pieces on  then contemporary Roman life. His works were mostly satirical in nature and he is credited with coining the phrase "Who will watch the watchers?" With that, satire was born!

There are many elements of effective satire, some of which include wit, irony, derision, humor, ridicule, and cynicism. For a more in-depth discussion of a definition for satire, see "On Satire".

Elements of effective satire

Wit: a keen, astute perception and the ability to think through a topic or situation clearly and critically. Wit should be seasoned liberally with cleverness. As Mary Worley Montagu said, "Satire should, like a polished razor keen, Wound with a touch that's scarcely felt or seen." Your wit should be biting, razor sharp. This is the primary ingredient for exceptional satire. After targets of opportunity of course.

Double-entendre—the art of saying one thing and clearly meaning something deeper or different can be utilized often. Most of us can do this frequently with off-color, bawdy, sexual jokes and references. Can you do it with politics or in a diatribe over a public figure? The phrase "great men are not measured soley by the size of their desk" comes to mind.

Humor plays a large role in getting your audience involved. Feel free to be funny, but try to avoid being just plain silly. Humor should reinforce your point. Without a point to convey, satire devolves into meaningless drivel.

Outrage. You should identify the problem, offer a solution to the problem and be perplexed, annoyed, and perturbed that everyone else, or at least the object of your satire, is too dense to see the validity of your solution. Either that, or he or she lack the public compassion to care, the intestinal fortitude to act or the strong, upright moral fiber that you possess to stand fast in the wake of crumbling values and potential disaster.

Ridicule is the next logical step after the outrage. Feel free to lambaste foibles, folly, and fool-hearted stupidity wherever you see them raise their hydra-heads. A word of caution: the satirist must beware that he not be "hoist with his owne [sic] petar" (William Shakespeare, Hamlet

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