What is Irony?

DR. HUSNIAH SAHAMID

GREEK ORIGINS -

• Irony - from the Ancient Greek εἰρωνεία eirōneía,

• meaning hypocrisy, deception, or feigned ignorance

Irony

• exposes and underscores a contrast between:

A. what is and what seems to be B. what is and what ought to be C. what is and what one wishes to be D. what is and what one expects to be

Three Types of Irony

1. Verbal irony2. Dramatic irony3. Situational irony

1. VERBAL IRONY glossary of literary terms - Abrams and Hartman

• a statement• meaning sharply different from meaning

expressed. • usually involves explicit expression of one

attitude /evaluation• but with indications - the speaker intends a

very different (often opposite), attitude or evaluation.

Verbal Irony

• convey something other than, • and especially the opposite - of the literal meaning of the words • emphasize, aggrandize• make light of a circumstance or subject.

Verbal irony • a disparity of expression and intention: • when a speaker says one thing but means

another, • when a literal meaning is contrary to its

intended effect • someone says "Oh, that's beautiful", when

what they mean (probably conveyed by their tone) is they find "that" quite ugly.

Verbal Irony

• Eg.: a man stares out a window, looks at a miserably muddy rainy day and remarks:

“Lovely day for a stroll.“• This remark is ironic because it expresses the

opposite of the circumstances.

• Or -the statement: "What a nice day" when it is raining.“Way to go, Einstein” when someone

makes a mistake

• the reader knows that a statement is ironic• because of familiarity with the situation• or a description of voice, facial, or bodily

expressions• which show the discrepancy/contrast

Verbal irony: 2 kinds

• Understatement : - minimizes the nature of something

• Overstatement: - exaggerates the nature of something

2. DRAMATIC IRONY

• device of giving the audience an item of information that at least one of the characters in the narrative is unaware of (at least consciously)

• Thus the audience is a step ahead of at least one of the characters.

Dramatic Irony• contrast between what the character thinks to

be true and what we (the reader) know to be true.

• placed in the position of knowing more than what one character knows.

• Because we know something the character does not, we read to discover –

• how the character will react when he /she learns the truth of situation

• Oedipus the King

Dramatic irony

• when a character states something that they believe to be true

• But the reader knows is not true• key to dramatic irony is the reader's

information or foreknowledge of coming events.

Example• when you know that a certain ‘someone’ is

hiding under the bed, but the heroine doesn't know it.

• You want her to get a clue and stay away from the bedroom

• So you think: . "Don't go in the room! Get out of the house!“

• The irony is that the heroine thinks she is safe, when you know she's in danger.

• There is that element of contrast

Dramatic Irony: 3 stages

• installation, exploitation and resolution • Also : preparation, suspension and resolution• producing dramatic conflict in what one

character relies or appears to rely upon, the contrary of which is known by observers (especially the audience; sometimes to other characters within the drama) to be true.

DRAMATIC IRONY - summary

• the audience knows something• that one or more of the characters in the

piece is not aware of.

Dramatic irony

• disparity of expression and awareness: • when words and actions possess a significance

that the listener or audience understands, • but the speaker or character does not. • when a character says to another "I'll love you

until I die!" not realizing a piano is about to crush them

Dramatic irony: examples

Romeo and Juliet,

• everyone thinks Juliet is dead,

• but the audience knows she took a sleeping potion.

Oedipus the King

• the reader knows that Oedipus himself is the murderer that he is seeking;

• Oedipus, Creon and Jocasta do not

• In City Lights • the audience knows that

Charlie chaplin’s character is not a millionaire,

• but the blind flower girl believes he's rich

Situational Irony

• a sharp contrast between reality and human ideals

• or contrast between intentions or actual results.

• when things don’t work out as planned, • but go according to the situation, and the

characters involved are unaware of the fact.

Situational irony • the disparity of intention and result• when the result of an action• is contrary to the desired or expected effect.

Situational Irony

• contrast between what happens and what was expected.

• Irony of situation is often humorous,• such as when a prank backfires on the

prankster.

Example

a person places a bucket of water over the door to pull a prank on his friend - forgets it later and gets drenched himself.

Example

Example• You are walking down the

street and find a 10sen coin. • However, you do not pick it

up and move towards the bus stop.

• as you try to take the bus, you realize that you are missing just 10 sen to take the bus

• so you have to walk instead.

The wonderful wizard of Oz

• Dorothy travels to see a wizard to return home• Has the ability to go back home all the time. • The Scarecrow longs for intelligence - already

a genius• Tin Woodsman longs to be capable of love,

discovers he already has a heart.

• The Lion, at first appears to be a coward - turns out to be bold and fearless.

• people in Emerald City believed Wizard was a powerful God

• discover he is a bumbling eccentric old man.

Questions on ironyadapted : http://serc.sogang.ac.kr/erc/Literature/Irony.htm

• A. What are the most obvious irony in this play?

• B. What are their implications?

Questions: Situational Irony

• Do the situational ironies result from fate or human actions?

• Are the characters aware of the situational ironies?

• At what point do the character become aware of them?

• What is the author trying to illustrate by pointing out the irony?

Questions: Dramatic Irony

• What do the readers know about coming events or past events that the characters do not know?

• When and what do they say that creates the disparity?

• What does the author want us to think of them when they say these things?

• Are the readers supposed to sympathize with them, or blame them for not being farsighted?