Censure Quote by Moliere

The audiences like to think that satire is doing something. But, in fact, it is mostly to leave themselves satisfied. Satisfied rather than angry,…

— Tom Lehrer

Satire is tragedy plus time. You give it enough time, the public, the reviewers will allow you to satirize it. Which is rather ridiculous,…

— Lenny Bruce

Satire dramatizes better than any other use of it, the inherent contradiction of free speech that it functions best when what is being said…

— Tony Hendra

If satire is to be effective, the audience must be aware of the thing satirized.

— Gore Vidal

Satire is an art best practiced behind the back of the intended target. I think inviting politicians on a satirical show becomes a very…

— Harry Shearer

Satire is a sort of glass wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind…

— Jonathan Swift

I've never been much drawn towards satire of any kind. I don't like that style whereby you kind of stitch people up. But the…

— Geoff Dyer

By rights, satire is a lonely and introspective occupation, for nobody can describe a fool to the life without much patient self-inspection.

— Frank Moore Colby

Satire of satire tends to be self-canceling, and deliberate shock tactics soon lose their ability to shock, especially when they're too deliberate.

— Herb Caen

Satire is at once the most agreeable and most dangerous of mental qualities. It always pleases when it is refined, but we always fear…

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own.

— Jonathan Swift

I'm uncomfortable with the word satire. In the U.K., there's quite a bit of sledgehammer weight to that word, which is the antithesis of…

— Jesse Armstrong