Types of Irony

Types of Irony

• 2.
  Three types  Verbalirony  Situational irony  Dramatic irony
• 3.
  Verbal Irony  Theuse of words to mean something different from what a person actually says  It is used by the speaker intentionally  It occurs in a conversation where a person aims to be understood as meaning something different to what his or her words literally mean.
• 4.
  Examples of VerbalIrony  “Great, someone stained my new dress.”  “Thanks for the ticket officer, you just made my day!”  “I can’t wait to read the seven hundred page report.”  Overstatement or Understatement  *Sarcasm – used to insult or to cause harm
• 5.
  Situational Irony  Occurswhen the exact opposite of what is meant to happen, happens  Involves a discrepancy between what is expected to happen and what actually happens
• 6.
  Example of SituationalIrony  When someone buys a gun to protect themselves, but the same gun is used by another individual to injure him.  The expectation was the gun would keep him safe.  But it actually caused him injury *There is a difference between situational irony and bad luck.  For this irony to occur there has to be something that leads the person to think that a particular even or situation is unlikely to happen.
• 7.
  Dramatic Irony  Whenthe audience is aware of something that the characters in the story are not aware of.  Three stages:  Installation: audience is informed of something the character does not know about.  Exploitation: using this information to develop curiosity among the audience  Resolution: what happens when the character finally finds out what is going on
• 8.
  Special Category ofD I  Tragic irony  When a character in a play does or says something that communicates a meaning unknown to him or her but recognized by the audience.
• 9.
  Examples of DramaticIrony  Think of tv shows or movies… where a detective does not know that the criminal responsible for the crime is actually his partner. The audience however is already aware of this fact and waits anxiously to know what will happen once the character finds out the truth.  Ex of Tragic Irony:  When a character orders poisoned food that is supposed to kill him or her and the audience already knows that the character is destined to die from food poisoning.
• 10.
  Strong Answer Format/Oedipus Using what you have learned about irony, answer the following question:  What has been ironic in Oedipus Rex? Give examples from the play. Answer the question Cite evidence to support your answer (give example/s) Explain how your examples prove your answer.