Irony: What is Anticipated to be True vs. What is Actually True
Situational Irony:
An occasion in which the outcome is significantly different from what was expected or considered appropriate.
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"Situational irony, sometimes called irony of events, is most broadly defined as a situation where the outcome is incongruous with what was expected, but it is also more generally understood as a situation that includes contradictions or sharp contrasts. . . . An example would be a man who takes a step aside in order to avoid getting sprinkled by a wet dog, and falls into a swimming pool." |
Verbal Irony:
Irony in which a person says or writes one thing and means another, or uses words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning.
Verbal irony is used in a variety of circumstances including general conversation, media, television sitcoms, and movies. Verbal irony is often stated in the form of a metaphor or simile because comparisons and contrasts are used to create a visualization for the listener or reader. |
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Examples:
soft like a brick
clear as mud
pleasant like a root canal
calm like a coiled snake
All of these examples compare two obviously contradictory objects, and the speaker is aware of this, which is why they say it. Verbal irony is closely tied to sarcasm, which is the use of irony to mock or convey contempt.
soft like a brick
clear as mud
pleasant like a root canal
calm like a coiled snake
All of these examples compare two obviously contradictory objects, and the speaker is aware of this, which is why they say it. Verbal irony is closely tied to sarcasm, which is the use of irony to mock or convey contempt.
Dramatic Irony
Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something the characters do not, and because of this understanding, the words of the characters take on a different meaning. This can create intense suspense or humor in the play, movie, etc.
Examples in Literature: |
In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the audience knows that Macbeth plans to murder King Duncan, but the other characters do not.
In Romeo and Juliette, also written by Shakespeare, Romeo thinks that Juliette is dead, but the audience knows otherwise. In the comedic The Parent Trap, the audience knows that the two twin main characters plan to have their parents meet at a hotel, but the parents know nothing of the plan. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the Puritans, who are supposed to spread the good word and love of God among each other, actually encompass enmity and grudges for one another. In the Titanic, just before the ship hits the iceberg, a passenger is overheard saying "The water is so beautiful, I could die". In Disney's Mulan, the audience knows that Mulan is a woman, but the other characters thought that she was a man. |