Political cartoons

Free resources

When you are preparing for an exam in which you will be asked to analyse a cartoon, it will pay off to make sure you recognize politicians who are often in the news. Make it a habit to regularly look at different cartoons and identify the issues they allude to.

If you need help with a cartoon, you can always write to your teacher and ask them to point you in the right direction.

Here are three links to online newspapers without a paywall which publish cartoons:

Mainly British politics:
- https://www.theguardian.com/cartoons/archive
- https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/cartoons/
Mainly American politics:
- https://theweek.com/cartoons
- https://www.politico.com/cartoons
- https://www.cagle.com/cartoons/
- https://tribunecontentagency.com/catalog/ (you have to scroll down to the section “Editorial Cartoons” and click on a cartoonist to see the cartoons)
- https://www.cartoonstock.com/collections/editorial-cartoons
Both British and American politics: https://mastodonapp.uk/@PoliticalCartoon

Stylistic devices

When you interpret a cartoon you should identify the stylistic devices the cartoonist uses to portray a message. Examples for stylistic devices are:

hyperbole or exaggeration: The cartoon overdoes a physical characteristic of people or things to make a point.
metaphor: The cartoon uses a word, phrase or image for another thing in order to emphasise their similar qualities.
irony: There is a contrast between how things are or what the cartoon says on a surface level and the way you expect them to be or what the message of the cartoon really means.
symbol: A concrete object stands for an abstract idea (e.g. a dove symbolizes peace).
pun: The cartoon makes a play on words to make a point.
analogy: The cartoon compares two unlike things (situations, people, actions, …) to highlight a resemblance of a particular aspect.
juxtaposition: The cartoon places two or more things side by side to point out their differences.

Useful phrases

Describing the cartoon

The cartoon …

is about …
deals with …
depicts / shows …

What part of the cartoon are you talking about:

at the top / bottom
in the foreground / background
in the top left-hand corner / bottom right-hand corner
in the centre
above / below

The speech bubble / thought bubble / caption / placard / sign …

reads …
says …

The words are printed in …

bold
italics
capital letters

Analysing the cartoon

Talking about stylistic devices:

The cartoonist / the cartoon uses XXX to …
XXX symbolizes / stands for YYY.
XXX stands in (sharp) contrast to YYY.
The exaggerated / farcial features of XXX make her look / highlight YYY
The cartoon draws a comparison between XXX and YYY.