Irony: Definition

Irony: difference between what is said or shown, and what is meant.

Assumes Two Audiences: one that hears and doesn’t know what is meant another (much smaller) that hears and does

understand what is meant Distance between:

Statement & Intention Promise & Action Appearance & Reality

Irony = Insincerity Antonym—or cure—is sincerity or authenticity

Irony: Details

Etymology: Gr. eironeia (dissimulation), (an eiron), a meaning of an utterance or a situation that is different, often opposite, to the literal one.

Comparative List (Type, Purpose; Example) Humour: discovery – “Dr., I want a second opinion.” Wit: enlightenment – “Quitting smoking is easy….” Satire: amendment – Colbert Report Sarcasm: inflicting pain – “You are really smart…” Invective: discrediting – “Thank-you for the war…” Irony: exclusiveness Cynicism: self-justification– “All politicians are crooks.”

Irony: Historical Development of Types

Socratic irony Socratic irony is feigning ignorance in order to expose the weakness of another’s position. Socrates & Ali G.

Roman irony or Rhetorical Irony In Roman times, irony was used in public speaking and

rhetoric: words used opposite their meaning or intent. “The honourable member ….”

A form of Verbal Irony Use of words to convey something other than, and especially the

opposite of, the literal meaning of the words. famous Pride & Prejudice opening:

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in posesssion of a large fortune must be in want of a wife.”

Dramatic Irony: audience knows something that the characters in a drama do not.

Irony: Historical Development of Types, con’t

1. Situational irony Situational irony occurs when the results of a situation are far

different from what is expected. English professor makes a spleling mistak while correcting a

student’s error.2. Irony of fate or Cosmic irony (larger Situational Irony)

The expression “irony of fate” stems from the notion that the gods (or the Fates) are amusing themselves by toying with the minds of mortals, with deliberate ironic intent.

Minor examples are daily life situations such as the rain that sets in immediately after one finishes watering one’s garden, following many days of putting off watering in anticipation of rain. LIFE IS UNFAIR.

3. Historical Irony (cosmic irony over time): The ‘Enlightenment’ spreading slavery & disease to First Nations

in New World. Britain winning WWII but watching Germany rise to dominance in

the post-war 20th Century.

Irony: Historical Development of Types

Socratic irony Socratic irony is feigning ignorance in order to expose the weakness of another’s position. Socrates & Ali G.

Roman irony or Rhetorical Irony In Roman times, irony was used in public speaking and

rhetoric: words used opposite their meaning or intent. “The honourable member ….”

A form of Verbal Irony Use of words to convey something other than, and especially

the opposite of, the literal meaning of the words. famous Pride & Prejudice opening:

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in posesssion of a large fortune must be in want of a wife.”

Dramatic Irony: audience knows something the characters in a drama do not.

Irony: Historical Development of Types

Romantic Irony (The Irony characteristic of the 18th C. Romanticist Movement: e.g. our friend William Blake.) “Romantic”” prose or poetic heroic narrative originating

in medieval literature and romantic (i.e. vernacular) literature: a turn to Nature as the locus of Truth– feeling over reason. (Neo-Humanism.)

A development of Dramatic Irony: in Romantic irony, the author is the god-like spectator to the script or novel; smiling at the foibles of the characters, and, by extension, the real world that the literature refers to.

Irony: Historical Development of Types

From this, it is only a short step to the idea that God is the supreme Ironist; watching the tragedy of the world, knowing that its end– which He of course designed– is a comedy.

Romantic Irony shows an awareness, a sensibility, that the author does not wish or expect the work to be taken wholly seriously, and thus invites a similar tone in the reader.

1. Achieved through a tone of writing & by verbal cues.2. Assumes) faculties & shared knowledge in the reader.

“This form of irony works best when the author is showing us what he is doing while he is doing it, so to speak….for instance when he comments literary composition and perhaps on the composition at hand.”

Irony: Historical Development of Types, con’t

1. Situational irony People and events coming together in improbable situations creating

a tension between expected and real results. Situational irony occurs when the results of a situation are far different from what was expected. This results in a feeling of surprise and unfairness due to the odd situation. English professor makes a spleling mistak on a spelling test.

2. Irony of fate or Cosmic irony (larger Situational Irony) The expression “irony of fate” stems from the notion that the gods (or

the Fates) are amusing themselves by toying with the minds of mortals, with deliberate ironic intent. Minor examples are daily life situations such as the rain that sets in immediately after one finishes watering one’s garden, following many days of putting off watering in anticipation of rain. LIFE IS UNFAIR.

3. Historical Irony (cosmic irony over time): The Enlightenment spreading slavery & disease to First Nations in

New World. Movements against intolerance become intolerant

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Irony: Historical Development: Verbal

Figures of irony: antiphrasis

Irony of one word, often derisively through patent contradiction. Referring to a hard slapshot: "No power on that shot, eh?"

paralipsisStating and drawing attention to something in the very act of pretending to pass it over.

It would be unseemly for me to dwell on Dr. Ogden’s drinking problem, and too many have already sensationalized his gambling habits...

epitropeTurns things over the hearer, either ironically, or in such a way as to gain an advantage for the speaker by doing so.

“Go ahead: make my day.” “[BOSS] OK: you can leave work early again.” sarcasmus

Use of mockery or taunts. mycterismus

mockery with an accompanying gesture, such as a scornful look.

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Situational Irony, e.g.: A ‘Welcome’ Sign on a Locked Door

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Cosmic Irony: e.g. “The Monkey’s Paw”

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Historical Irony, e.g.: England’s State Church Head promotes Islamic ‘Sharia’ Law in UK.

SIMULACRUM

A COPY OR REPRESENTTAION OF REALITY ‘similar’ to the real

thing appearance, not

reality.

Examples: Maps Disneyland

Stages of the simulacrum

1. It is the reflection of a basic reality.

2. It masks and perverts a basic reality.

3. It masks the absence of a basic reality.

4. It bears no relation to any reality whatever: it is its own pure simulacrum.

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Plato’s Cave

Example of the power of essay to: Create forceful images Condense the largest and most abstract concepts into

a short and concrete literary form. Express complex and massive ideas in an immediate

and unforgettable way Transport myth—i.e. the fundamental truths of a

civilisation. The sense—the myth—more important than words used

Plato’s Cave is the Meta-Parable: A Parable about what a parable does—i.e. what the

teller of a parable is doing.

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Plato’s Cave: Life & Reality

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Plato’s Cave: example #1

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Plato’s Cave: example #2

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Plato’s Cave: example #3

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Plato’s Cave: example #4