Irony

= = Irony in Dead Poets Isn't it Ironic Literary Devices

Irony
 * What is irony? **

Irony is simply a literary device involving opposites–either in meaning, outcome, or interpretation. Typically, when something is ironic it’s because what you thought was actually the opposite of what really was. That sounds a bit confusing. Let’s see if being specific can help with this vagueness.

There are several types of irony–some you learned in English class, others you might never have heard of:


 * ** Verbal irony. ** Ah, the irony everyone knows and loves–the most basic form of sarcasm. This is when something is said, but the speaker means the opposite. (“I //love// your hair!”)


 * ** Situational irony. ** Usually when someone says, “Well, isn’t this ironic?” it’s situational irony. If you’ve done something and the outcome was the opposite of your intention, you’ve got it.


 * ** Dramatic irony. ** Remember this one from English class? Of course you do. If your class was anything like mine, this concept was tied with barbed wire to your lessons on //Romeo and Juliet//. Dramatic irony involves the audience knowing more than a character and therefore seeing that character’s mistake ahead of time.


 * ** Comic irony. ** Wikipedia assures me this is a specific type of irony. Irony is “comic” when it’s humorous–in many cases, irony is actually //not// funny. Seriously, take a look at most instances of irony and you’ll find some rather unfunny stuff.


 * ** Tragic irony. ** Those cases where irony isn’t funny? Yeah, they’re considered “tragic”. Specifically, this usually applies to dramatic irony–the “tragic” part comes from the traditional “tragedy versus comedy” aspect of stage performance; tragedy having a sad ending and comedy having a happy ending.


 * ** Historical irony. ** Here’s one you probably haven’t heard of. Historical irony occurs when reality acts like literature and, well, ironic stuff happens. Like World War I being called the “war to end all wars” or Sega releasing the Dreamcast. (Okay, so maybe the second one isn’t irony so much as bad timing.)


 * ** Socratic irony. ** (Rhetorical) Socratic irony is simply another name for the Socratic method; that is, asking questions you know the answer to in order to spark debate or trap the person you’re arguing against. A "baited" question that is awkward for the person to answer in light of what has been said.

**Types, Definitions and Examples**
 * **TYPE OF IRONY** || **DEFINTION OF TYPE** || **EXAMPLE OF TYPE** ||
 * ** VERBAL ** || ** SAYING ONE THING AND MEANING ANOTHER. ** || ** IF I REALLY DIDN’T LIKE MY FRIEND’S HAIR, BUT COMMENTED, “OH, I REALLY LIKE YOUR HAIR!” ** ||
 * ** SITUATIONAL ** || ** EVENTS TURN OUT DIFFERENTLY THAN EXPECTED. ** || ** YOU WIN A MILLION DOLLARS, AND YOU DIE THE NEXT DAY (“IRONIC” BY ALANIS MORISETTE) ** ||
 * ** DRAMATIC ** || ** WHEN THE AUDIENCE KNOWS MORE THAN THE CHARACTERS. ** || ** IN A HORROR MOVIE, WHEN THE AUDIENCE KNOWS THE MONSTER IS IN THE CLOSET, BUT THE CHARACTER DOESN’T. ** ||