What is Irony ?
Irony is…
• A disconnect
between expectations and reality:
– Between what is said and what is meant– Between what is said and what is meant
– Between what is expected and what really
happens
– Between what appears to be true and what
actually is true.
Verbal Irony
In verbal irony,
there is a conflict
between what is
“The instructions were as clear as mud.”
“This is a fine mess”
“A patriot must always be ready between what is
said and what is
meant.
to defend his country
against his government.” -Edward Abbey
”He was as pleasant and
relaxed as a coiled rattlesnake”
-Kurt Vonnegut
from Breakfast of Champions
“This worthy’s name was Hubert. . .”
Chaucer in The General Prologue
speaking of the friar-
an extremely corrupt member of the clergy.
Chaucer calls him “worthy”
but really he is completely
unworthy of his holy position.
One commonly found
example of verbal irony is the
ever present ironic t-shirt.
Sometimes verbal irony is
unintentional…
Verbal irony in Jane Austen.
• Ex. The first sentence of Pride and Prejudice:
• “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife”
• Actually, it is the female characters who are searching for husbands-particularly husbands with money.
Situational Irony
Situational irony
is when
what actually what actually happens
is different
from what
you expect to happen.
QuickTime™ and aYUV420 codec decompressor
Television shows like “The Simpsons” and
“Family Guy” use situational irony as comedy.
YUV420 codec decompressorare needed to see this picture.
Dramatic Irony
• Dramatic irony
occurs when the
reader (or audience)
knows something knows something
that the character
does not.
Dramatic Irony in Shrek
• In this scene of
Shrek, the audience
knows that Princess
Fiona is an ogre, but
QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Fiona is an ogre, but
Shrek does not.
are needed to see this picture.
Dramatic Irony in Tragedy is often
called “tragic irony”
Romeo poisons himself when he believes Juliet is dead
We know she is only sleeping.
Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony makes you want to stop Romeo from taking the poison.
Dramatic irony in a play draws the audience into the action.
