Irony

Irony: expression of something that is contrary to the intended meaning; the words say one thing but mean another. Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man. Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

Verbal or Rhetorical Irony The most common kind of irony Characterized by a discrepancy between what a speaker or writer says and what he or she believes to be true More specifically, a speaker or writer using verbal irony will say the opposite of what he or she means

Verbal One of the most famous examples is Jonathan Swift’s bitter satire “A Modest Proposal,” which purports to present a happy solution to the famine in Ireland. The risk, which did in fact affect the reception of Swift’s essay, is that an oblivious audience will mistake irony for serious statement and so miss the underlying meaning completely. In other words, verbal irony depends on the reader’s ability to infer meaning that an author implies, rather than directly expresses

Situational Irony or Irony of Situation Derives primarily from the events or situations themselves, as opposed to statements made by any individual, whether or not that individual understands the situation as ironic In Pride and Prejudice, Lady Catherine visits Elizabeth Bennet with the purpose of ending the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy. The irony is that the visit has the reverse effect

Dramatic Irony and Tragic Irony Can be classified as situational irony Tragic irony is a type of dramatic irony marked by a sense of foreboding Dramatic irony may be used to refer to a situation in which the character’s words come back to haunt him or her Oedipus announcing that he will find the killer of Laius, when we the audience already know who the killer is, falls under tragic or Sophoclean irony

Structural Irony Works that exhibit structural irony contain an internal feature that creates or promotes a discrepancy that typically operates throughout the entire work For example, the reader of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” quickly recognizes that its narrator is fallible Discovering Swift’s true view and purpose in using a fallible narrator becomes the reader’s task

Cosmic Irony or Irony of Fate Classified as structural irony Arises from the disparity between a character’s (incorrect) belief in his or her ability to shape his or her destiny and the audience’s recognition that an external, supernatural force has the power to manipulate or even control that character’s fate Arthur Miller’s Willy Loman kills himself to secure his family the insurance payment that his suicide will, in fact, make invalid

Cosmic Joke A man said to the universe: "Sir I exist!" "However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation."