Irony is a contrast of what is literally expected and what actually occurs. Irony is used to create unexpected moments that surprise the readers, and works because it takes the assumed story formula, character stereotypes, or analogous comparisons and turns them on their heads. By doing this, irony has the ability to:
- Add humor
- Create conflict
- Foreshadow events
- Increase tension and suspense
|
|
Verbal irony uses wordplay to contrast between what is said and what is meant, usually to add humor to an exchange of words. The most common verbal irony is the broken simile: "Well, that policy's clear as mud." There is still a similarity between the two items, but it is the opposite of the comparison expected, something clear. This type of verbal irony is called acyron-- when a word is used which is opposite to the normal word that should be applied (when acyron is used is a full phrase instead of a single world, it's called antiphrasis).
Another common type of verbal irony is hyperbole and its opposite understatement. Both are types of analogies that rely on exaggeration. Writers use hyperbole to overexaggerate, making something bigger or more important for effect. I feel as big as a house and the whole world was laughing at me are examples of hyperbole. Understatement, called meiosis by the Greeks, is an underexaggeration, making something smaller or less important for effect. Saying it's not a big deal…only a fatal wound or I'm pretty okay with Sheila dating my best friend and ripping my heart out are examples of understatement. Often, understatement uses litotes, a type of solecism where the writer creates a double negative statement to create a juxtaposed conflict of meaning. For example, a character saying she's not unattractive is different than saying she's attractive -- the use of understatement here is specifically avoiding the positive phrasing, leading the reader to understand that, while the speaker doesn't find the woman unattractive, it's questionable if the speaker does find the woman attractive. A similar juxtaposition that invites verbal irony is the oxymoron, which is a phrase that combines two words with opposite definitions (think jumbo shrimp, civil war, accurate estimate, awfully good, and Quiet Riot). Sometimes verbal irony comes in the form of wit, as in Mae West's famous comment "I was as pure as the driven snow-- but I drifted." Some witticisms can drift into sarcasm and become quips, which use tone to demonstrate that what is said is the opposite of what's meant: "Oh, I'll get right on that." Since sarcasm depends on tone, it is very hard to convey in writing but very easy to convey in speech. Some easier to convey ironic devices are amphibology and antanagoge. Amphibology occurs when punctuation is left out of a clause to give a statement ambiguity: in the phrase "Medical services here--You won't get better," there is ambiguity on whether the patient won't get better service or won't heal. Another example: "Wanted: chair for a person with a wooden leg" is not clear whether the person or chair has a wooden leg. A similar device is antanagoge, where a negative point is balanced with a positive point. "I've lost my job, but I'm looking forward to spending time at home" and "The best thing about the chemotherapy has been the weight loss -- I'm three sizes smaller!" are examples of antanagoge. Note that antanagoge is said authentically -- otherwise, it'd be sarcasm. Finally, there are puns, which suggest a secondary meaning for words used for effect, as in Richard III's famous line, "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York." Most puns, which are short for the Greek term paromonasia, are intended to be humorous by eliciting a groan rather than a laugh: "I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me." |
|
|
Situational irony occurs when a what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected to happen. With comedy, something that should result in failure results in success, like Don Quixote fighting a windmill and being praised rather than thrown into an institution. With tragedy, something that should result in success ends in failure, like Willy Lohman going to his boss to ask for a raise and he ends up getting fired. Situational irony is often used for humorous effect and to create or intensify conflicts. There are four different flavors of situational irony:
|
|
|
Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something the characters (or a character) don't. While this can be used for humor or to create conflicts, dramatic irony is most often used to foreshadow in literature. Foreshadowing is a deliberate hint left by an author as to what events will occur later in the narrative. Dramatic irony is also a feature of most mysteries and plays (hence the drama in dramatic), as it helps increase tension and apprehension in an audience waiting for something they know will happen to occur.
One of the most classic examples of dramatic irony is the end of Romeo and Juliet: the audience knows that Juliet isn't really dead, but Romeo believes it and kills himself. In Oedipus Rex, the audience knows that Oedipus accidentally married his mother but he and the others have to discover it on their own. While dramatic irony is more prevalent in tragedy, it is also used in comedy: in School for Scandal, Peter confronts his adopted son Joseph of his suspicions that Joseph's brother Charles is having affair with Lady Teazle, Peter's lover... while Lady Teazle is hiding behind the curtain, as she is having an affair with Joseph. A type of dramatic irony is Socratic irony, which occurs when someone who knows the answers to a question feigns ignorance to see what others say. Socrates did this as a teaching tool, as his students would endeavor to refine their answers to his questions as he kept asking narrowed questions. In literature, a character knows something (and the audience knows they know it) but pretends to not know to get information such as motives or knowledge from other characters. |
Works Referenced
8-Bit Philosophy. "What is Reality." Wisecrack, 27 April 2014, youtu.be/lVDaSgyi3xE
Cervantes Saaverda, Miguel de. Don Quixote de La Mancha (1605). Borders Classics, 2003.
The Great Dictator. Directed by and featuring Charlie Chaplin. United Artists, 1940.
In the Navy. Directed by Arthur Lubin, featuring Bud Abbott and Lo Costello. Universal, 1945.
Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950). HarperCollins, 2002.
"Little Old Lady." The Abbott and Costello Show, season 1, episode 23. T.C.A. Productions, 1953.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman (1949). Penguin, 1999.The Naughty Nineties. Directed by Jean Yarbrough, featuring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Universal, 1945.
Orwell, George. Animal Farm (1946). Harcourt Brace, 1997.
Plato. "The Allegory of the Cave" (c. 380 BCE). Republic, Book VII, translated by Thomas Sheehan. Stanford University, accessed 16 April 2017, web.stanford.edu/class/ihum40/cave
Shakespeare, William. As You Like It (1623), edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstein. Folger Shakespeare Library, 2014.
- - -. Much Ado About Nothing (1623), edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstein. Folger Shakespeare Library, 2014.
- - -. Richard III (1623), edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstein. Folger Shakespeare Library, 2014.
- - -. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (1623), edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstein. Folger Shakespeare Library, 2014.
Sheridan, Richard Brinsley. The School for Scandal (1777). The Broadview Anthology of British Literature, Vol. 3, edited by Joseph Black, et al. Broadview Press, 2006, pp. 755-798.
Sophocles. Oedipus Rex (429 BCE), translated by Sir George Young. Dover, 1991.
Stowe, Harriett Beecher. Uncle Tom's Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly (1852). Modern Library, 2001.
8-Bit Philosophy. "What is Reality." Wisecrack, 27 April 2014, youtu.be/lVDaSgyi3xE
Cervantes Saaverda, Miguel de. Don Quixote de La Mancha (1605). Borders Classics, 2003.
The Great Dictator. Directed by and featuring Charlie Chaplin. United Artists, 1940.
In the Navy. Directed by Arthur Lubin, featuring Bud Abbott and Lo Costello. Universal, 1945.
Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950). HarperCollins, 2002.
"Little Old Lady." The Abbott and Costello Show, season 1, episode 23. T.C.A. Productions, 1953.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman (1949). Penguin, 1999.The Naughty Nineties. Directed by Jean Yarbrough, featuring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Universal, 1945.
Orwell, George. Animal Farm (1946). Harcourt Brace, 1997.
Plato. "The Allegory of the Cave" (c. 380 BCE). Republic, Book VII, translated by Thomas Sheehan. Stanford University, accessed 16 April 2017, web.stanford.edu/class/ihum40/cave
Shakespeare, William. As You Like It (1623), edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstein. Folger Shakespeare Library, 2014.
- - -. Much Ado About Nothing (1623), edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstein. Folger Shakespeare Library, 2014.
- - -. Richard III (1623), edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstein. Folger Shakespeare Library, 2014.
- - -. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (1623), edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstein. Folger Shakespeare Library, 2014.
Sheridan, Richard Brinsley. The School for Scandal (1777). The Broadview Anthology of British Literature, Vol. 3, edited by Joseph Black, et al. Broadview Press, 2006, pp. 755-798.
Sophocles. Oedipus Rex (429 BCE), translated by Sir George Young. Dover, 1991.
Stowe, Harriett Beecher. Uncle Tom's Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly (1852). Modern Library, 2001.