Irony

The contrast or discrepancy between appearances and reality, between what is expected and the outcome.

Verbal Irony

Verbal irony is a disparity of expression and intention: when a speaker says one thing but means another, or when a literal meaning is contrary to its intended effect. An example of this is sarcasm.

Verbal Irony

We hear verbal irony in conversations all the time. The simple comment, "Oh Great" after something rotten happens is verbal irony. Verbal irony is by far the most accessible, far-reaching, and heavily utilized form of irony (and also of sarcastic humor) because it is its simplest form - it just involves the equation of two people talking to one another.

Verbal IronyVerbal Irony A person says one thing and means A person says one thing and means

another (sarcasm)another (sarcasm)

Scar explains that a secret surprise for Simba is "To DIE for".

The irony being that the surprise is a stampede of wildebeast meant to kill Simba.

Verbal Irony

Situational Irony

An outcome that turns out to be if not the opposite, at least completely different than the expected.

After Gus Grissom's first flight into space, the hatch on his spacecraft accidentally blew off while Grissom was waiting for a rescue helicopter, causing the capsule to fill with ocean water and sink and Grissom to nearly drown. The hatch system was re-designed to prevent similar accidents. while training for his third spaceflight, a fire broke out inside Grissom's spacecraft, The hatch redesign triggered by the accident with Grissom's first spacecraft, meant to help save astronaut's lives, prevented Grissom from being rescued in the subsequent fire accident.

Situational Irony

After breaking a date with your girlfriend so you can go to the ball game with the guys. Who do you run into at the concession stand? Your girlfriend with another guy from math class.

After burning the midnight oil, staying up all night studying for a test. Lo and behold the test is actually scheduled for next week.

Situational Irony

Dramatic Irony

Occurs when the audience knows something that the characters do not.

Examples

- In slasher movies, when the audience know what’s around the corner, but the poor babysitter doesn’t.

- In Romeo & Juliet, when Romeo drinks the poison because he thinks Juliet is dead, but the audience knows that she is only asleep.

Cosmic IronyCosmic Irony: the idea that fate, destiny, or a god controls and toys with human hopes and expectations; also, the belief that the universe is so large and man is so small that the universe is indifferent to the plight of man; sometimes called irony of fate.

Importing Cane Toads to Australia to protect the environment only to create worse environmental problems for Australia.

Several inventors were killed by their own creations, including William Nelson, Alexander Bogdanov, William Bullock, Otto Lilienthal, and Thomas Midgley.

CosmiCosmic c IronyIrony

The expression “irony of fate” The expression “irony of fate” stems from the notion that the stems from the notion that the gods are amusing themselves gods are amusing themselves by toying with the minds of by toying with the minds of mortals. Closely connected with mortals. Closely connected with situational irony, it arises from situational irony, it arises from sharp contrasts between reality sharp contrasts between reality and human ideals.and human ideals.

In O. Henry's story The Gift of the Magi, a young

couple are too poor to buy each other Christmas gifts. The wife cuts off her treasured hair and sells it to

a wig-maker buy her husband a chain for his heirloom pocket

watch. She's shocked when she learns he had pawned his watch to buy her a set of combs for her long,

beautiful, prized hair.

Romantic Irony

A mode of dramatic or narrative writing in which the author builds up artistic illusions, only to break it down by revealing that the author, as artist is the arbitrary creator and manipulator of the characters and their actions.

In “Don Juan”, the author Byron claims to be writing a realistic story but at one point admits that he got the idea from a puppet show.

Romantic Irony