“The Lottery”

Shirley Jackson

Irony

A literary or rhetorical device in which there is a gap (or incongruity) between what a speaker or a writer says and what is generally understood

Verbal Irony

Irony produced intentionally by speakers e.g.- a person reports to her friend that rather than

going to a medical doctor to treat her ovarian cancer, she has decided to see a spiritual healer instead. In response her friend says sarcastically, "Great idea! I hear they do fine work!" (Note that this could easily be spoken literally by a person who believes in spiritual healing as a legitimate treatment for cancer.) The friend could have also replied with any number of ironic expressions that should not be labeled as sarcasm exactly, but still have many shared elements with sarcasm.

Situational Irony

A kind of irony in which there is a discrepancy between the expected result and actual results when enlivened by perverse appropriateness.

Examples:

O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi

Dramatic Irony

A kind of irony that occurs when a character on stage or in a story is ignorant, but the audience knows his/her actual fate

e.g.- Romeo and Juliet

Symbolism

The practice of representing things by symbols.

Tone

The mood or feeling of a literary work e.g.- Formal, Informal, Serious, Humorous, Amused,

Angry, Playful, Neutral, Satirical, Fictional, Imaginary, Fanciful, Idealistic, Romantic, Realistic, Optimistic, Pessimistic, Gloomy, Melancholic , Mournful , Sorrowful