Satire and the problem of comic laughter

Abstract

Abstract The ubiquity of satire in contemporary American popular culture suggests an opening for contributing to theory about that particular kind of comic artefact. In addition to a sketch of the necessary elements for satire to appear, I offer some theoretical remarks about the field of study—humor studies as it is usually called, The Comic as I term the enterprise. Potential meanings of comic laughter are explored in order to probe the nature of satire and its reception by audiences and readers.