Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 29 views

    Types of Irony

    Uploaded by

    George
    This document discusses different types of irony: [1] Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something that characters do not, such as a character's imminent danger or true intentions. [2] Situational irony features unexpected outcomes that contradict what was anticipated. [3] Verbal irony involves saying something that means the opposite through tone or context, such as sarcasm. [4] Additional types include Socratic irony, pretending ignorance to expose flaws in others' reasoning, and cosmic irony, when fate or chance leads to surprising outcomes.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Types of Irony

    Uploaded by

    George
    29 views3 pages
    This document discusses different types of irony: [1] Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something that characters do not, such as a character's imminent danger or true intentions. [2] Situational irony features unexpected outcomes that contradict what was anticipated. [3] Verbal irony involves saying something that means the opposite through tone or context, such as sarcasm. [4] Additional types include Socratic irony, pretending ignorance to expose flaws in others' reasoning, and cosmic irony, when fate or chance leads to surprising outcomes.

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    This document discusses different types of irony: [1] Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something that characters do not, such as a character's imminent danger or true intentions. [2] Situational irony features unexpected outcomes that contradict what was anticipated. [3] Verbal irony involves saying something that means the opposite through tone or context, such as sarcasm. [4] Additional types include Socratic irony, pretending ignorance to expose flaws in others' reasoning, and cosmic irony, when fate or chance leads to surprising outcomes.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    29 views3 pages

    Types of Irony

    Uploaded by

    George
    This document discusses different types of irony: [1] Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something that characters do not, such as a character's imminent danger or true intentions. [2] Situational irony features unexpected outcomes that contradict what was anticipated. [3] Verbal irony involves saying something that means the opposite through tone or context, such as sarcasm. [4] Additional types include Socratic irony, pretending ignorance to expose flaws in others' reasoning, and cosmic irony, when fate or chance leads to surprising outcomes.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 3

    English literature

    Grade 10
    IRONY

    Examples of Irony: Major Types and Meanings

    Irony occurs when what actually happens turns out to be completely different from what would
    be expected. In writing or speaking, irony involves using words so the intended meaning is the
    opposite of the literal meaning. The three major types of irony are: dramatic, situational and
    verbal, though there are also a few other kinds. Below are some irony examples that illustrate
    each different type of irony.

    Dramatic Irony
    Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows more about what's going on than the characters.
    It can create suspense as the audience waits to see if the characters will realize what’s happening
    before it’s too late. Stories with an omniscient narrator often use dramatic irony as a literary
    technique.

     A novel's heroine visits her favorite café every day from 11am to 1pm. Her brother's best
    friend knows this and is trying to find a way to ask her out on a date. The day he gets up
    the courage to go to the café she's not there. The reader knows she is ill, but he doesn’t.
     A woman thinks her boyfriend is about to break up with her because he has been acting
    distracted and distant. Readers know he bought her an engagement ring and is nervous
    she won't say yes. He calls her one afternoon and simply says, "I need to see you. Meet
    me at Columbus Square at six o'clock." She's sure he's going to break up with her. But
    when she arrives, he's set up a beautiful proposal with a string quartet, dozens of roses,
    and a huge sparkler of a diamond.
     In Twilight, Edward is convinced that he is putting Bella in danger when readers know
    that she is actually in grave danger from others that only Edward can protect her from.
     In Macbeth, the title character appears to be loyal to Duncan. However, Macbeth is
    actually plotting Duncan’s murder. Duncan doesn't know this, the audience does.
     In Animal Farm, the animals believe Boxer was sent to the hospital while readers know
    all along that the pigs actually sold him to the slaughter house.

    Dramatic irony heightens the audience's anticipation, hopes or fears. As readers wait to see when
    the main character will "catch on", suspense is building and the pages are turning.
    Situational Irony

    Situational irony occurs when something happens that is completely different from what was
    expected. Usually, these instances incorporate some type of contradiction and a certain level of
    surprise or shock.

     In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her friends search for external forces to
    help them get what they need, but discover that they always had what they needed.
     A person works hard for decades, spending little to save money for retirement. The week
    before retiring, the person unexpectedly has a massive heart attack and dies.
     A man buys a gun to protect his home. During a break-in, an unarmed intruder wrestles
    the gun from the homeowner and shoots him with his own gun.
     An ambulance driver speeds to the scene of a road accident. The victim isn't badly hurt.
    As the driver arrives at the scene, another car smashes into the ambulance causing it to hit
    the victim’s car and deploy the airbag, which causes more injury to her than the first
    accident.
     The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin tells the tale of a wife who learned her husband
    was dead. She felt a sense of freedom, thinking about her new life out from under his
    thumb. Suddenly, the husband returns (he never was dead) and she dies of shock.

    Each of these situations involves a turn of events that is unexpected.


    Verbal Irony

    Verbal irony occurs when a character says one thing, but means another. In the examples below,
    the words that are used to convey verbal irony are marked in bold.

     A writer is working on a comedy. The weather has been dreary, making it difficult to
    craft witty scenes. Upon opening the blinds to see dark clouds outside again, the writer
    says, "Great. Another rainy day. How wonderful."
     A woman’s giant dog insists on sitting on her when she relaxes on the sofa. The dog
    climbs on her and she says, “I’m so glad I have such a tiny little lap dog.”
     A person finishes a huge meal only to have a friend show up with a pizza for the two of
    them to share. The very full person says, “Wow, perfect timing.”
     I just love watching the same cartoon five times every afternoon. It’s such a delight.
     “Oh no, I couldn’t possibly eat another piece of cake.” That’s what my aunt said as she
    picked up another piece of cake and started eating it.

    This type of irony is often confused with sarcasm, though they were not the same. Sarcasm
    involves a derogatory tone, with at least a bit of a mean-spirited dig rather than using words in an
    ironic (opposite) manner.
    Additional Types of Irony

    While dramatic, verbal and situational irony are considered the three main types of irony, they
    are not the only forms.

    Socratic Irony
    Socratic irony involves pretending to be ignorant on a topic and asking questions to someone as a
    way to get them to expose their own ignorance or flaws in reasoning. This technique is
    commonly used in satire.

     Sacha Baron Cohen's satirical characters, such as Ali G and Borat, acted stupid to
    highlight the ignorance and stupidity of those they talked to.
     Your parents pretend not to know that you dented the car. They ask you a series of
    seemingly innocent questions that eventually lead to your confession.

    This type of irony is related to the Socratic method used in teaching, though the goal of
    questioning students in education is to encourage them to engage in critical thinking rather than
    trying to expose a lack of knowledge.
    Cosmic Irony

    Cosmic Irony can be attributed to misfortune associated with fate or chance. The outcomes don’t
    result from characters' actions, so it seems that an outside force has a hand in the situation.

     A classroom bully who picks on overweight classmates throughout childhood is


    prescribed a medication as an adult that causes extreme weight gain.
     The shyest girl is convinced that boys won’t be interested in her and will prefer her more
    outgoing friends. She becomes the first in her group to get invited to the big dance.

    This type of irony is often seen in situations that can be described as karma, in which a person is
    seen as getting their due (positive outcomes as a result of previous difficulties or negative
    outcomes related to previous negative actions).

    You might also like