irony found in essay

Definition of Irony

Common examples of irony, verbal irony, situational irony, examples of irony in plot, real life examples of irony, difference between verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony, writing irony, plot device, method of reveal, difference between irony and sarcasm, use of irony in sentences, examples of irony in literature.

Irony is a very effective literary device as it adds to the significance of well-known literary works. Here are some examples of irony:

Example 1:  The Necklace (Guy de Maupassant)

“You say that you bought a necklace of diamonds to replace mine?” “Yes. You never noticed it, then! They were very like.” And she smiled with a joy which was proud and naïve at once. Mme. Forestier, strongly moved, took her two hands. “Oh, my poor Mathilde! Why, my necklace was paste. It was worth at most five hundred francs!”

Example 2:  Not Waving but Drowning  (Stevie Smith)

Nobody heard him, the dead man, But still he lay moaning: I was much further out than you thought And not waving but drowning .

Example 3:  A Modest Proposal (Jonathan Swift)

A child will make two dishes at an entertainment for friends; and when the family dines alone, the fore or hind quarter will make a reasonable dish, and seasoned with a little pepper or salt will be very good boiled on the fourth day, especially in winter .

Example 4: 1984 by George Orwell

War is Peace ; Freedom is Slavery and Ignorance is Strength .

Synonyms of Irony

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• What Is Irony? | Examples, Types & Definition

What Is Irony? | Examples, Types & Definition

Published on June 20, 2024 by Magedah Shabo .

Irony occurs when events or words are the opposite of what is expected, creating a sense of surprise, humor , or deeper meaning in literature, rhetoric, and everyday situations.

Table of contents

What is irony, 3 types of irony, irony vs sarcasm, frequently asked questions about irony.

Irony involves a clear contrast between what is expected or intended and what actually happens or is expressed. It reveals unexpected outcomes or contradictions that challenge conventional expectations, prompting deeper thought and emotional responses.

As a rhetorical and literary device, irony plays an essential role in enriching narratives, conveying complex ideas, and engaging audiences by adding layers of meaning and nuance to communication and storytelling.

There are three common types of irony:

Situational irony

Verbal irony, dramatic irony.

Situational irony occurs when events starkly contrast with expectations. As a literary plot device, it is often used to emphasize the difference between appearance and reality, surprising the audience and creating memorable plot twists.

The effects of situational irony include provoking thought and evoking a range of emotions, from humor to tragedy. Situational irony can occur in literature, film, and theater to engage audiences and enhance storytelling.

Verbal irony occurs when someone says something dramatically different from what they mean. As a literary and rhetorical device, it is used to convey sarcasm, humor, or criticism by contrasting the literal meaning of the words with the intended message.

The effects of verbal irony include adding layers of meaning, provoking thought, and evoking a range of emotions from amusement to disdain. Verbal irony is commonly found in literature, everyday conversation, and speeches to engage audiences and enhance communication.

Dramatic irony is a plot device that involves revealing information to the audience that some or all of the characters do not know. This technique can create humor, suspense, or emotional impact.

In tragedy, dramatic irony is also called “tragic irony,” and it serves to heighten emotions such as fear, sympathy, or a sense of impending doom. In comedy, dramatic irony often involves humorous misunderstandings.

Irony involves a contrast between expectation and reality. It can be situational, dramatic, or verbal.

Sarcasm is a specific type of verbal irony that conveys mockery or disdain by saying the opposite of what one means.

While irony is a technique used in satire, satire is a broad genre that aims to provoke thought and promote change.

• Irony involves a contrast between expectation and reality, highlighting discrepancies through situational irony, verbal irony , or dramatic irony.
• Satire uses humor , irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to criticize and expose the flaws or vices of individuals, societies, or institutions. It aims to provoke thought and promote change.

An example of irony in literature is in O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi,” where Jim and Della each sacrifice their most prized possession to buy a gift for the other: Della sells her hair for a chain, and Jim sells his watch for combs.

The situational irony lies in the fact that Jim and Della’s well-intentioned sacrifices make their gifts useless. This irony highlights the idea that the true value of gifts lies in the love and sacrifice they represent.

Socratic irony is the technique of posing simple questions, as if one were ignorant, to expose the ignorance or flaws in others’ arguments. The irony lies in the fact that by feigning ignorance, you can lead people to reveal their own misunderstandings or contradictions, encouraging deeper reflection and critical thinking. This method is a key part of the Socratic method of teaching and dialogue.

Example : In Plato’s dialogues, Socrates questions Euthyphro about the nature of piety. Socrates pretends not to understand what piety is and asks Euthyphro to explain it. Through a series of questions, Socrates exposes the inconsistencies in Euthyphro’s definitions, showing that Euthyphro does not actually understand the concept as well as he claims.

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How to Write About Irony in a Literary Essay

Irony is used across literary genres to a variety of effects. There are two main steps to writing about irony in a literary essay. First, there’s the definition: You’ll need to recognize irony in the text and figure out what type of irony it is. Second, there’s the interpretation: You’ll comment on how that specific type of irony contributes to the overall meaning of the larger text.

Verbal Irony

In general, you can think of irony as occurring when an outcome undermines someone’s expectations. Verbal irony happens when conversational expectations are undermined. When another person listens to you speak, he usually assumes you’re saying what you mean. If you use verbal irony, you say something that you don’t want a listener to take literally. Sarcasm is one kind of verbal irony: If it’s storming, you might say, “Oh, what perfect weather for a picnic!” but expect your friend to realize that you mean just the opposite. Overstatement ( hyperbole ) and understatement (litotes) are also types of verbal irony. As is probably clear, verbal irony is heavily context dependent -- listeners or readers must know something about the speaker’s situation to interpret it correctly.

Dramatic Irony

Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something that a character doesn’t know. Usually, this “something” is a crucial piece of information for a decision that the character has to make. (This is the kind of irony that makes you scream at an unsuspecting heroine, “Don’t go out the back door-- the killer’s waiting there!”) For example, in William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet,” Romeo finds Juliet in a drugged sleep, but mistakenly believes that she is dead and, in great distress, commits suicide. The gap between Romeo’s perspective -- that Juliet is dead -- and the audience’s perspective -- that Juliet is merely feigning death -- constitutes dramatic irony.

Situational Irony

Situational irony happens when a text’s plot takes a completely different turn than both the characters and the audience expect. For instance, In “Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back,” the story’s hero, Luke Skywalker, learns that the evil Darth Vader is really his father -- and the audience is just as surprised as he is. Situational irony is also sometimes called “cosmic irony” or “irony of fate.”

Interpreting Irony

Once you pinpoint and define irony, in your literary essay, you can show how irony is working to create, reinforce or undermine an overall theme of the text. For instance, in the example of dramatic irony from “Romeo and Juliet,” you could argue that Romeo’s hasty actions in response to his assumption comment on a larger theme of the play: the feud between his and Juliet’s parents. Although we might understand a smitten young lover’s rash decision to join his sweetheart in death, we can contrast his excusable immaturity with the parents’ inexcusable immaturity in holding a grudge that costs many lives. The dramatic irony of the death scene heightens our emotional response to the unnecessary nature of the lovers’ deaths. That emotion then makes us more invested in the play’s resolution, when the feuding families reconcile, and helps us to internalize one of the play’s messages: Bitter hate wounds the hater most deeply. As in all literary essays, make sure to discuss plenty of quotations (here, the ironic passages) as well as the textual and historical context to demonstrate irony’s role in the text as a whole.

• Kansas State University: Critical Concepts: Verbal Irony; Lyman Baker

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Irony Definition

What is irony? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition, don't worry—it is. Irony is a broad term that encompasses three different types of irony, each with their own specific definition:  verbal irony ,  dramatic irony , and  situational irony . Most of the time when people use the word irony, they're actually referring to one of these specific types of irony.

Some additional key details about irony:

• The term "irony" comes from the ancient Greek comic character called the "eiron," who pretends ignorance in order to deceive an opponent. 
• Irony overlaps with, but is not identical to, sarcasm and satire . 
• In the last twenty years or so, the term "ironic" has become popular to describe an attitude of detachment or subversive humor, like that of someone who wears a Christmas sweater as a joke. This more recent meaning of ironic is not entirely consistent with the original meaning of irony (a fact which itself might be described as being somewhat ironic). 

Irony Pronunciation

Here's how to pronounce irony: eye -run-ee

Irony in Depth

The term "irony" usually refers to three particular types of irony:

• Verbal irony is a figure of speech in which the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. For example, if someone has a painful visit to the dentist and when it's over says, "Well, that was pleasant," they are using verbal irony because the intended meaning of their words (that it  wasn't at all  pleasant) is the opposite of the literal meaning of the words. Verbal irony is the most common form of irony. In fact it is so common that when people mention "irony," they often are actually referring to verbal irony. 
• Dramatic irony  Is a plot device that highlights the difference between a character's understanding of a given situation, and that of the audience. When the audience watching a movie know what's behind that door, but the character in the movie has no idea... that's dramatic irony. 
• Situational irony  refers to an unexpected, paradoxical, or perverse turn of events. It is an example of situational irony when, in the O. Henry story " The Gift of the Magi ," a young wife cuts off her hair in order to buy her husband a chain for his prized watch, but the husband sells his watch to buy his wife a comb for her beautiful hair. 

Although these three kinds of irony may seem very different at first glance, they all share one important quality: a tension between how things appear and how they really are. For a more in-depth look at each of these devices, please visit their individual pages.

Also, it's worth knowing that sometimes instances of irony don't quite fit into any of these categories, and instead align with the more general definition of irony as something that seems to be one way, but is in fact another way. Put more broadly: sometimes irony is verbal irony, sometimes it's dramatic irony, sometimes it's situational irony, and sometimes it's just irony. 

Irony, Sarcasm, and Satire

Besides the three main types of irony described above, two other literary devices—sarcasm and satire—share a lot in common with irony:

• Sarcasm is a bitter, cutting, or mocking taunt used to denigrate a particular person, place, or thing. It can sometimes take the form of verbal irony. For instance, if you were to say to someone who had just cut you in line, "What a polite, civilized person you are!" that would be sarcasm in the form of irony, since your meaning is the opposite of the literal meaning of your words. Sarcasm very often involves irony. However, it doesn't always have to use irony. For instance, when Groucho Marx says "i never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception," he is being sarcastic, but his words, however witty they are, mean exactly what they say. 
• Satire is a form of social or political critique. Like sarcasm, it often makes use of irony, but it isn't always ironic.

You can get more details on both sarcasm and satire at their specific pages.

Irony Examples

All three forms of irony are used very frequently in literature, theater, and film. In addition, sometimes the irony found in any of these mediums is broader and doesn't fit into any of the specific categories, and is instead just general irony. 

Irony in "The Sell Out"

" The Sell Out " by Simon Rich is a short story recently published in the New Yorker that is full of irony. The story is narrated by a Polish Jew named Herschel, who lives in Brooklyn in the early twentieth century. Herschel accidentally preserves himself in brine for one hundred years, and when he is finally discovered, still alive, in 2017, he is introduced to his great-great-grandson, a young man who lives in present-day Brooklyn. On Herschel's first day, the great-great-grandson Simon tells Herschel about computers. Herschel describes the scene (note that Hershel's English isn't all that great):

It takes him long time, but eventually Simon is able to explain. A computer is a magical box that provides endless pleasure for free. Simon is used to constant access to this box—a never-ending flow of pleasures. When the box stops working—or even just briefly slows down—he becomes so enraged that he curses our God, the one who gave us life and brought us forth from Egypt.

This description is a great example of irony in the most general sense. The humor stems from the disparity between what seems to be true to Herschel (that computers are magic pleasure boxes) and what is actually true (that computers are, well, computers, and that people are kind of stupidly addicted to them). The use of irony is effective here because Hershel's description, as outlandish as it is, actually points to something that is  true about the way people use computers. Therefore, the disparity between "what is" and "what appears to be" to Herschel isn't merely a comical error; rather, it's ironic because it actually points to a greater truth about its subject.

Verbal Irony in Don Quixote

One famously ironic work is Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote .   At one point, the book's narrator states: 

… historians should and must be precise, truthful and unprejudiced, without allowing self-interest or fear, hostility or affection, to turn them away from the path of truth, whose mother is history.

We can identify the above quotation as an example of verbal irony if we consider that the book's hero, Don Quixote, is fundamentally incapable of distinguishing truth from fiction, and any historian of his life would have to follow a double track of reality and fantasy which continuously overlaps, tangles, and flips. One of the most basic premises of the book is that truth is more difficult to identify than it may seem. Therefore, when the narrator vows to follow the single path of truth, he is being ironic; in reality, he believes this to be impossible. 

Dramatic Irony in Othello

The device of dramatic irony is especially well-suited to the theater, which displays constantly shifting sets, scenes, and characters to a stationary audience that, therefore, often has a more complete or "omniscient" perspective compared to any of the characters. One excellent example of dramatic irony can be found in Shakespeare's  Othello . 

Through the play, the audience watches as Iago plots against his commander Othello, and seeks to make Othello believe that his wife Desdemona has been unfaithful to him. The audience watches as Iago plots to himself and with others. Sometimes Iago even directly reveals his plans to the audience. Meanwhile, Othello continues to trust Iago, and the audience watches as the the plan they know that Iago is pursuing slowly plays out just as he intended, and Othello eventually murders the entirely innocent Desdemona. The way that the play makes the audience aware of Iago's plot, even as Othello is not, means that the play is full of dramatic irony almost for its entire length. 

Situational Irony in The Producers

In this classic film, two friends come up with a complicated money-making scheme in which they put on a play that they think is absolutely certain to fail. Their plan backfires when the play, entitled "Springtime for Hitler," is so shockingly bad that people think it's a comedy and come to see it in droves. This is an example of situational irony because the outcome is the exact opposite of what the play's producers expected.

Why Do Writers Use Irony?

Irony is a tool that can be used for many different purposes. Though sarcasm and satire are two ways of using irony that are primarily negative and critical, ironic statements can also underscore the fragility, complexity, and beauty of human experience.

• Situational irony often demonstrates how human beings are always at the mercy of an unpredictable universe—and that life can always take an unexpected turn.
• Dramatic irony emphasizes that human knowledge is always partial and often incorrect, while giving the reader or viewer the satisfaction of a more complete understanding than that of the characters.
• In dialogue, verbal irony can display one character's sparkling wit, and another character's thickheadedness. Verbal irony can also create a connection between people who  get  the irony, excluding those who don't.

Ultimately, irony is used to create meaning—whether it's humorous or profound—out of the gap between the way things appear and how they actually are.

Other Helpful Irony Resources

• The Wikipedia page on irony : A helpful overview.
• The dictionary definition of irony : A basic definition, with a bit on the etymology.
• The comedian George Carlin explaining the difference  between situational irony and mere coincidence.
• A site with a helpful index of examples of different types of irony in television, film, video games, and other media.

• Dramatic Irony
• Verbal Irony
• Red Herring
• Alliteration
• Point of View
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• Pathetic Fallacy
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What is Irony in English Literature? Types of Irony and Examples – explanation & analysis

Irony is a word every literature student hears many times in the classroom. While reading a literary note or watching a video on YouTube, this term pops out on many occasions. Irony, we can assume, is a common term often encountered by those studying literature, English or any other language. The question of the hour for many is ‘what is irony’. All those who have come to this page looking for a definition of irony in general and its definition in the literary context, please ensure you read this page to the end. In this article, I will not only define irony in literature but also add types of irony, their examples and some popular instances in literature to make you understand everything in the best possible way.

In general terms , irony is an expression that means (generally) opposite to what it supposedly conveys. “Ah, it was an amazing day!” Imagine someone expressing this after losing his wallet in the street to a pickpocket. That’s an example of irony in expressions. The term irony, at times, also means a situation that is commonly opposite to or not exactly what someone imagined. For instance, a person spends all night thinking about ‘tomorrow’ when he finally gets to see Leo Messi playing live. However, ‘tomorrow’ the match somehow gets cancelled. That’s irony.

In a literary context, Irony is a powerful literary device that adds depth and complexity to a narrative. It involves a discrepancy (or deviation in simple terms) between what is expected or intended and what actually occurs, creating a contrast that often reveals deeper truths or critiques. The intended discrepancy can be in expressions, occurrence or in the very scheme of the work of literature (of concern). Irony, as a literary device, works on multiple levels, offering a range of effects and engaging readers in a process of interpretation and exploration.

To simplify this concept, irony can be understood as a literary tool that uses unexpected twists or contradictions to create an impact on the audience and provoke thought.

Types of Irony in literature: In literature, there are many types of irony critics have noted. However, among these types, a few can be clubbed together to create a comprehensive one. Before we discuss the major types of irony in literature, have a look at the names and brief introductions to some prominently identified ironies.

• Verbal Irony: A character says one thing but means another, mostly the opposite.
• Situational Irony: Mostly comic, and at times tragic or another kind of contrast between what is expected to happen and what actually occurs.
• Dramatic Irony: The audience or readers understand that a character does not, leading to a difference in understanding or interpretation of events.
• Cosmic Irony: The universe seemingly conspires against the intentions of characters, resulting mostly in a bitter or cruel outcome.
• Socratic Irony: A speaker feigns ignorance or adopts a naive stance to expose the flaws or contradictions in someone else’s argument.
• Romantic Irony: A form of self-conscious irony that calls attention to the limitations and complexities of human experience and perception.
• Historical Irony: Occurs when in a work of literature, events unfold in a way that contradicts expectations based on historical context or knowledge.
• Tragic Irony: The audience or reader knows that a character’s actions or choices will lead to downfall or loss, while the character remains unaware.
• Structural Irony: The overall structure or organisation of a work creates irony, often through juxtaposition or contrasts of various kinds.

4 Major Types of Irony in Literature: A Detailed Discussion with Examples

Verbal irony: This is the form of irony frequently found in literature across genres. It occurs when a character or narrator says something but means the opposite, most of the time, or an overestimated or underestimated version of the said thing. Finding examples of verbal irony in literature is relatively easy. Just read the novels by Austen, the poems by the poets of the Neo-classical age, or the works by Jonathan Swift. In Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels,” Gulliver mockingly describes the tiny Lilliputians as a great and powerful nation. But readers can easily understand the irony peeping from the description as they are physically small and their power is laughably inadequate. Moreover, it is not only for amusement. By employing verbal irony, Swift powerfully satirises political and social institutions, offering a critique of human vanity and the follies of society. So, you can see that verbal irony may serve many purposes at the same time – extending its use beyond amusement in literature.

Situational irony: Unlike verbal irony, situational irony arises when there is a contrast between what is expected to happen and what actually takes place. Therefore, it is in the art of the author or the poet – how skilfully and craftily the plot accommodates such dramatic and ironic changes. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” the eponymous character Jay Gatsby throws lavish parties to attract the attention of his beloved Daisy Buchanan, only to discover that she does not attend these extravagant gatherings. And thus, we can say that by the craft of the author, this situational irony occurs in the story. Beyond being a situation that is not up to the expectations of the protagonist, the situational irony also underlines the futility of Gatsby’s efforts and the emptiness of his pursuit of the American Dream . Try finding more instances of such situational irony in the works you read.

Dramatic irony: Dramatic irony, unlike the other two forms of irony mentioned above, involves the audience as well. It occurs when the audience or reader possesses knowledge that a character does not have. This lack of information on the part of the character may lead to confused actions or misleading interpretations, creating an ironic impact on the work of literature and an effect on the audience as well. In William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” the audience is aware that Juliet has taken a sleeping potion to feign death, but Romeo, upon seeing her seemingly lifeless body, believes she is truly dead. Consequently, a romantic ending turns into a tragic conclusion leaving the audience in shock. This dramatic irony intensifies the tragedy of the play, as the audience is privy to information that could alter the course of events if known by the characters.

Cosmic Irony: As the name suggests, this is a form of irony which reflects a larger sense of fate or destiny at work. With his artistic skills of weaving the plot and the storyline, the author or the poet exhibits events in a sequence that reflects more impact of the destiny of the characters rather than their actions. To give a contextual sense of it, it occurs when the universe seems to conspire against the desires or intentions of characters, often resulting in a bitter or cruel outcome. A prime example of cosmic irony can be found in Thomas Hardy’s novel “Tess of the d’Urbervilles.” Despite Tess’s undying efforts to escape her tragic past and start her life anew, she is relentlessly pursued by misfortune, ultimately leading to her tragic downfall. And that’s how an author makes the cosmos work against a character! The cosmic irony in this narrative emphasizes the cruel forces of fate that dictate Tess’s life… and Tess’s life may symbolise the trivial nature of ephemeral human life – merely puppets in the hands of fortune and powers that be!

Conclusion:

Among many literary devices that authors employ to add emotional and thoughtful dimensions to their works, irony is a major tool. Irony adds amusement, tragic consequences or just that little extra punch to the satirical impact in the arguments, situations or the overall impact of the literary work. Jane Austen is known for her illustrious use of verbal irony in her novels. Thomas Hardy’s works, in most cases, are full of instances of situational and cosmic irony. Tragedies and comedies by Shakespeare have amply exhibited dramatic irony in full force. Othello slipping into the web of doubts, Rosalind disguised herself as a man and testing the love of Orlando, the nightmare comedy of A Midsummer Night’s Dream… and so on… Irony was utilised by authors like Swift and poets like Pope to convert bitter but essential messages to the audience.

I hope I have covered enough about this topic in this article. If there is something else that you want to understand, please mention that in the comments and I will try to answer your concerns. All the best!

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Very helpful! I was looking for simple but comprehensive definition of irony in literary context. Got it here. Also the types of irony with examples. Thanks very much!

Very helpful article. I was confused about irony in literature. It helped me a lot. I have also shared this article with all my friends in the second year English literature, BA group. Keep doing this stuff guys. Your site is very simple to read and amazingly helpful.

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Wonderful article… Irony was always a complex thing for me to understand… this article helped me a lot in understanding the basics as well as the types and examples of irony of different kinds.

Very nicely explained article on irony… I was confused about socratic irony. Well this article helps understand different types of ironies in better perspectives with examples. Can you please explain socratic irony in a little more detail. Is it important in literature? Please tell. Thanks

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Last updated on Nov 03, 2022

3 Types of Irony: Tell Them Apart With Confidence (+ Examples)

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Irony is when the opposite of what is expected happens. In writing, there are three types of irony — verbal, situational, and dramatic.

• Verbal irony is when a person says one thing but means the opposite;
• Situational irony is when the opposite of what is expected happens; and
• Dramatic irony is when the audience knows something that characters do not.

The term “irony” comes from the Greek word eironeia , meaning "feigned ignorance," and many storytellers of all stripes like to employ different forms of irony as the central conceit in a plot.

To help you make heads or tails of this technique, this article will dig into the three common types of irony.

1. Verbal irony

Verbal irony is where the intended meaning of a statement is the opposite of what is actually said. People and literary characters alike use it to express amusement, emphasize a point, or to voice frustration or anger. In literature, verbal irony can create suspense, tension, or a comic effect. 

Verbal irony is actually the type of irony most used in everyday conversation, and can take the form of sarcasm — which is almost always used to denigrate someone or something. Regardless, the two are not the same thing, though many people conflate the concepts. 

To illustrate, here are a few common phrases that perfectly exemplify how verbal irony works — many of them similes comparing two entirely unlike things:

• "Clear as mud."
• "Friendly as a rattlesnake."
• "About as much fun as a root canal."

Understating and overstating

Broadly speaking, verbal irony works by either understating or overstating the gravity of the situation. 

An ironic understatement creates contrast by undermining the impact of something, though the thing itself will be rather substantial or severe. For example, in The Catcher in the Rye , Holden Caulfield casually says, "I have to have this operation. It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain." Of course, Holden is lying here, which is why he can be so cavalier — and the nonchalant way he downplays something as serious as a brain tumor is ironic.

On the other hand, an ironic overstatement makes something minor sound like a much bigger deal to emphasize a quality it lacks. For example, say you win $5 in a lottery where the grand prize is $100 million. A friend asks you if you won anything, and you say, "Yeah, total jackpot" — that's an ironic overstatement.

💡 Note: Don’t confuse ironic overstatements with hyperbole , which are exaggerated statements . If a character says "I'm so tired, I could sleep for a million years,” and they are genuinely tired, that isn’t ironic — just exaggerated.

Highlighting a fallacy

Verbal irony is often used for satirical purposes, exaggerating or underplaying descriptions to reveal a deeper truth. Viewed through a lens of overstatement or understatement, the reader can see how flawed the original concept might be.

Verbal irony can be found in the very first lines of Romeo and Juliet (a play riddled with irony).

Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

Though the first line may sound respectful, we can see by the end of this verse that Shakespeare doesn’t actually mean to say that both households are alike in their great dignity. Instead, these lines imply the total opposite — that both households are equally un dignified. This irony also serves another purpose: notifying first-time readers that not all that glitters is gold. While both families might technically be considered nobility, their shared inability to act nobly toward one another ultimately leads to a bitter end for our tragic heroes.

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Providing insight into characters

Dialogue is an incredible tool for revealing what a character is like as how they choose to say something can speak volumes about who they are. Very often, people who use verbal irony tend to be highly self-aware.

For example, in Casablanca, the corrupt (yet charming) police captain Louis Renault follows instructions from German officials  to order a raid on Rick's nightclub under the pretext of closing an illegal gambling den. "I'm shocked — shocked! — to find that gambling is going on in here!" Renault exclaims while thanking Rick’s croupier for bringing him his winnings. This knowing overstatement of 'shocked' reveals a lot about his cheerfully cynical worldview.

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Creating a comic effect

Of course, verbal irony can also be used for a simple comic result. Whether it's to highlight a witty character, lighten tension during a dark or difficult scene, or just to make people laugh, verbal irony can provide a much-needed moment of humorous relief. As you might expect, verbal irony is a common joke component.

For example, in Notting Hill , when love interests Anna and Will first meet at his bookshop , he confronts a man who’s trying to steal a book, and very politely threatens to call the police. When he returns to the till to help Anna, she hands over the book she’d like to buy and says “I was gonna steal one, but now I’ve changed my mind.” Obviously, the statement isn’t true — she’s using verbal irony to make light of the situation, diffusing awkwardness and showing her friendly inclination.

2. Situational irony

In literature, situational irony is a literary or plot device occurring when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen and what actually happens. You can use it to create suspense, humor, and surprise in your writing.

You can think of it as “the irony of events” to distinguish from the other types of irony, but it is not the same as coincidence or bad luck (apologies to Alanis Morrisette ). If you buy a new car and then accidentally drive it into a tree, that is coincidental and unlucky, but not ironic. However, if a professional stunt driver crashes into a tree on their way home from receiving a "best driver" award, that is situationally ironic. 

Within the context of a story, why might a writer use situational irony?

Creating a good ol’ fashioned twist

Authors can draw strong reactions from their readers by presenting them with carefully executed twists and turns. A plot twist is all the more delicious when it's the polar opposite of what you'd typically expect. Storylines based on or containing situational irony inherently possess an element of surprise, so they're common in the comedy, thriller, crime, and mystery genres.

In Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest , for example, Jack proposes to Gwendolen under his fake name of Ernest, hoping to share the truth about his name once he’s been accepted. His plan is quickly thwarted when she accepts him because of his name, telling him that her “ideal has always been to love some one of the name of Ernest.” When he asks her what he thinks of “Jack” as a name, she declares that “The only really safe name is Ernest” — so his plan to reveal the truth is suddenly turned on its head, and he resolves to get christened as soon as possible. 

Emphasizing a theme or moral lesson

Steering readers to an unexpected destination in a story can also emphasize a theme or moral lesson — often reminding readers that an expected outcome is not always guaranteed. And because situational irony can urge readers to think twice about their own assumptions, authors often deploy it in fables or morality tales.

In Aesop's 'The Tortoise and the Hare,' for example, the unexpected outcome teaches us that slow and steady wins the race . Or perhaps the real moral is that you shouldn't be complacent and take naps during races.

Situational irony creates a contrast between appearances and underlying truths. When done properly, this can significantly alter a reader's interaction with, expectations of, and insight into a story. But irony must be used with care: without the help of intonation and body language, it requires people to read between the lines to understand its intentions; a reader who doesn’t see the irony will take these words at face value.

3. Dramatic irony

Dramatic irony occurs when the reader or viewer knows something that the characters in the story do not. This can create a sense of unease or anticipation as the audience waits to see how the characters will react to the situation they are in. 

So, to what effect can dramatic irony be used in a story?

Building fear and suspense

When readers or viewers know more than the characters do, they’re often left on pins and needles, waiting for the other shoe to drop or for an inevitable plot point to appear. Will the character discover the secret we already know? What will happen when they find out the truth? What if they find out the truth too late? Subconsciously, all of these questions run through their minds as the story unfolds, contributing to page-turning suspense.

The Hobbit contains a perfect example of dramatic irony — when Bilbo happens upon the ring while lost on a mountain, he puts it in his pocket and soon afterward encounters Gollum.

At this point, readers understand the significance of the ring and its importance to Gollum. However, Gollum does not yet realize he has lost the ring, and Bilbo doesn’t yet know who the ring belongs to. For this reason, the scene where Bilbo and Gollum engage in a game of riddles becomes more stressful for the audience who understands what’s at stake. 

📚 For some truly impressive suspense-building, check out this list of the 50 best suspense books of all time.

Eliciting sympathy for a character

If a character is happy but we know that tragedy lies ahead, we can’t help but sympathize with them. If the reader or audience is already "rooting for" the characters, they will hold on to the hope that things will turn out okay for them. And whatever the end result is — pain or relief —  the reader is likely to feel it twofold.

The audience knew all along! (image: Touchstone Pictures)

In the modern-day Shakespeare adaptation Ten Things I Hate About You , for example, bad-boy transfer student Patrick is paid by his classmate to woo the cold and aloof Kat. The audience knows that Kat will eventually discover the truth. The deception will wound her, and Patrick will (justifiably) lose her trust. This dramatic irony gives the scenes where they fall in love a bittersweet edge, making us sympathize with both characters. 

In fact, many romance tropes rely on dramatic irony, like the hate-to-love trope — just on account of the characters existing in a romance novel, readers know they're going to end up together . This results in that “slow burn” anticipation where readers are dying to see the characters confess their feelings, but have to live with their impatience as the romance slowly runs its course.

Setting up comical misunderstandings

A lot of comedy comes out of misunderstandings — where a character believes something that the audience knows not to be true, or doesn’t yet know something important. The dramatic irony turns into comedic tension as the character obliviously digs themselves (or other characters) into a deeper hole.

To give you an example of how this works: in a season one episode of Friends , Joey tried to win back his ex-girlfriend Angela by arranging a double date. He brings Monica but  tells her that Angela’s new boyfriend, Bob, is actually her brother — making it seem as though Bob is Monica’s date. This misunderstanding turns to hilarious confusion as Monica is creeped out by how 'close' Bob and Angela seem to be.

Want more examples and in-depth explanation of any of these types of irony? We’ve spent some time breaking them down even further in the next posts in this guide — starting with verbal irony.

3 responses

Katharine Trauger says:

08/08/2017 – 05:39

I once received a birthday card telling me that irony is the opposite of wrinkly. But I do have a question: I believe, as you related to Hitchcock and I think about his works, that he used irony extensively, even more than one instance in a piece. It's a lot to remember and I've certainly not examined his works to verify that. However, I wonder if, although his works were beyond successful and loved by many, just how much irony is acceptable in today's writing. I agree it is a great device, but can it be overdone? Also, I am writing a piece which has what I believe an ironic ending. Is that a bad place to put a huge departure from the expected? I think O'Henry did that a lot, like when the man sells his watch to buy combs for his wife, and she sells her hair to buy a chain for his watch... But today, how much is too much and will readers come back for more?

↪️ Jim Morrison replied:

20/06/2018 – 21:42

While irony can be overused, it is not a bad thing to use irony - even to end a book. "Story" by Robert McKee discusses irony as an ending and explains how to use it and when to use it. As to your question about how much irony is accepted in today's society, I would say that it is more acceptable than before. With today's writing - particularly in theater - irony is a heavily used element. Thor: Ragnarok, for example, is dripping with ironic situations. Satire, the personal wheelhouse of Vonnegut and Heller, is not only a highbrow version of sarcasm, it is also heavy on the irony. So I say, personally, be as ironic as you want, just, as mentioned in the blog, be careful you don't overuse it to the point that the use of irony becomes ironic (i.e. you lose the audience). Cheers and happy writing.

Naughty Autie says:

30/05/2019 – 15:37

There is a blog which does not allow comments, yet it's called 'The Conversation'. Funny, I always thought that a conversation always took place between multiple people.

Comments are currently closed.

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What Is Irony? Definition and 5 Different Types of Irony to Engage Readers

by Fija Callaghan

Fija Callaghan is an author, poet, and writing workshop leader. She has been recognized by a number of awards, including being shortlisting for the H. G. Wells Short Story Prize. She is the author of the short story collection Frail Little Embers , and her writing can be read in places like Seaside Gothic , Gingerbread House , and Howl: New Irish Writing . She is also a developmental editor with Fictive Pursuits. You can read more about her at fijacallaghan.com .

Most of us are familiar with irony in our day to day lives—for instance, if you buy a brand new car only to have it break down on its very first ride (situational irony). Or if someone tells you they love your new dress, when what they actually mean is that it flatters absolutely no one and wasn’t even fashionable in their grandparent’s time (verbal irony).

Ironic understatement and ironic overstatement make their way into our conversations all the time, but how do you take those rascally twists of fate and use them to create a powerful story?

There are countless examples of irony in almost all storytelling, from short stories and novels to stage plays, film, poetry, and even sales marketing. Its distinctive subversion of expectation keeps readers excited and engaged, hanging on to your story until the very last page.

What is irony?

Irony is a literary and rhetorical device in which a reader’s expectation is sharply contrasted against what’s really happening. This might be when someone says the opposite of what they mean, or when a situation concludes the opposite of how one would expect. There are five types of irony: Tragic, Comic, Situational, Verbal, and Socratic.

The word irony comes from the Latin ironia , which means “feigned ignorance.” This can be a contradiction between what someone says and what they mean, between what a character expects and what they go on to experience, or what the reader expects and what actually happens in the plot. In all cases there’s a twist that keeps your story fresh and unpredictable.

By using different kinds of irony—and we’ll look at the five types of irony in literature down below—you can manage the reader’s expectations to create suspense and surprise in your story.

What’s not irony?

The words irony and ironic get thrown around a fair bit, when sometimes what someone’s really referring to is coincidence or plain bad luck. So what constitutes irony? It’s not rain on your wedding day, or or a free ride when you’ve already paid. Irony occurs when an action or event is the opposite of its literal meaning or expected outcome.

For example, if the wedding was between a woman who wrote a book called Why You Don’t Need No Man and a man who held a TEDtalk called “Marriage As the Antithesis of Evolution,” their wedding (rainy or not) would be ironic—because it’s the opposite of what we would expect.

Another perfect example of irony would be if you listened a song called “Ironic,” and discovered it wasn’t about irony after all.

Why does irony matter in writing?

Irony is something we all experience, sometimes without even recognizing it. Using irony as a literary technique in your writing can encourage readers to look at your story in a brand new way, making them question what they thought they knew about the characters, theme, and message that your story is trying to communicate.

Subverting the expectations of both your readers and the characters who populate your story world is one of the best ways to convey a bold new idea.

Aesop used this idea very effectively in his moralistic children’s tales, like “The Tortoise and the Hare.” The two title characters are set up to race each other to the finish line, and it seems inevitable that the hare will beat the tortoise easily. By subverting our expectations, and leading the story to an unexpected outcome, the author encourages the reader to think about what the story means and why it took the turn that it did.

The 5 types of irony

While all irony functions on the basis of undermining expectations, this can be done in different ways. Let’s look at the different types of irony in literature and how you can make them work in your own writing.

1. Tragic irony

Tragic irony is the first of two types of dramatic irony—both types always show the reader more than it shows its characters. In tragic dramatic irony, the author lets the reader in on the downfall waiting for the protagonist before the character knows it themselves.

This is a very common and effective literary device in many classic tragedies; Shakespeare was a big fan of using tragic irony in many of his plays. One famous example comes at the end of Romeo and Juliet , when poor Romeo believes that his girlfriend is dead. The audience understands that Juliet, having taken a sleeping potion, is only faking.

Carrying this knowledge with them as they watch the lovers hurtle towards their inevitable, heartbreaking conclusion makes this story even more powerful.

Another example of tragic irony is in the famous fairy tale “Red Riding Hood,” when our red-capped heroine goes to meet her grandmother, oblivious of any danger. The reader knows that the “grandmother” is actually a vicious, hungry wolf waiting to devour the girl, red hood and all. Much like curling up with a classic horror movie, the reader can only watch as the protagonist comes closer and closer to her doom.

This type of irony makes the story powerful, heartbreaking, and deliciously cathartic.

2. Comic irony

Comic irony uses the same structure as dramatic irony, only in this case it’s used to make readers laugh. Just like with tragic irony, this type of irony depends on allowing the reader to know more than the protagonist.

For example, a newly single man might spend hours getting ready for a blind date only to discover that he’s been set up with his former girlfriend. If the reader knows that both parties are unaware of what’s waiting for them, it makes for an even more satisfying conclusion when the two unwitting former lovers finally meet.

TV sitcoms love to use comedic irony. In this medium, the audience will often watch as the show’s characters stumble through the plot making the wrong choices. For example, in the TV series Friends , one pivotal episode shows a main character accepting a sudden marriage proposal from another—even though the audience knows the proposal was made unintentionally.

By letting the audience in on the secret, it gives the show an endearing slapstick quality and makes the viewer feel like they’re a part of the story.

3. Situational irony

Situational irony is when a story shows us the opposite of what we expect. This might be something like an American character ordering “shop local” buttons from a factory in China, or someone loudly championing the ethics of a vegan diet while wearing a leather jacket.

When most people think about ironic situations in real life, they’re probably thinking of situational irony—sometimes called cosmic irony. It’s also one of the building blocks of the twist ending, which we’ll look at in more detail below.

The author O. Henry was a master of using situational irony. In his short story “ The Ransom of Red Chief ,” two desperate men decide to get rich quick by kidnapping a child and holding him for ransom. However, the child in question turns out to be a horrendous burden and, after some negotiating, the men end up paying the parents to take him off their hands. This ironic twist is a complete reversal from the expectation that was set up at the beginning.

When we can look back on situational irony from the past, it’s sometimes called historical irony; we can retrospectively understand that an effort to accomplish one thing actually accomplished its opposite.

4. Verbal irony

Verbal irony is what we recognize most in our lives as sarcasm. It means saying the opposite of your intended meaning or what you intend the reader to understand, usually by either understatement or overstatement. This can be used for both tragic and comic effect.

For example, in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar , Mark Anthony performs a funeral speech honoring the character Brutus. He repeatedly calls him “noble” and “an honorable man,” even though Brutus was actually involved in the death of the man for which the funeral is being held. Mark Anthony’s ironic overstatement makes the audience aware that he actually holds the opposite regard for the villain, though he is sharing his inflammatory opinion in a tactful, politically safe way.

Verbal irony is particularly common in older and historical fiction in which societal constraints limited what people were able to say to each other. For example, a woman might say that it was dangerous for her to walk home all alone in the twilight, when what she really meant is that she was open to having some company.

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice , the two younger girls wail that they’ve hurt their ankles, hoping to elicit some sympathy from the strong arms of the men. You can use this kind of rhetorical device to enhance your character development.

5. Socratic irony

Socratic irony is actually a little bit like dramatic irony, except that it happens between two characters rather than between the characters and the reader. This type of irony happens when one character knows something that the other characters don’t.

It’s a manipulative technique that a character uses in order to achieve a goal—to get information, to gain a confession, or to catch someone in a lie. For example, police officers and lawyers will often use this technique to trip someone up: They’ll pretend they don’t know something and ask questions in order to trick someone into saying something they didn’t intend.

Usually Socratic irony is used in a sly and manipulative way, but not always; a teacher might use the Socratic irony technique to make a child realize they know more about a subject than they thought they did, by asking them leading questions or to clarify certain points. Like verbal irony, Socratic irony involves a character saying something they don’t really mean in order to gain something from another character.

Is irony the same as a plot twist?

The “plot twist” is a stylistic way of using situational irony. In the O. Henry example we looked at above, the author sets up a simple expectation at the start of the story: the men will trade in the child for hard cash and walk away happy. Alas, life so rarely goes according to plan. By the time we reach the story’s conclusion, our expectation of the story has been completely twisted around in a fun, satisfying way.

Not all situational irony is a plot twist, though. A plot twist usually comes either at the end or at the midpoint of your story. Situational irony can happen at any time as major plot points, or as small, surprising moments that help us learn something about our characters or the world we live in.

You’ll often see plot twists being compared to dramatic irony, because they have a lot in common. Both rely on hidden information and the gradual unfurling of secrets. The difference is that with a plot twist, the reader is taken by surprise and given the new information right along with the characters. With dramatic irony, the reader is in on the trick and they get to watch the characters being taken off guard.

Both dramatic irony and plot twists can be used quite effectively in writing. It’s up to you as the writer to decide how close you want your readers and your characters to be, and how much you want them to experience together.

How to use irony in your own writing

One of the great advantages of irony is that it forces us to look at things in a new way. This is essential when it comes to communicating theme to your reader.

In literature, theme is the underlying story that’s being told—a true story, a very real message or idea about the world we live in, the way we behave within it, or how we can make it a better place. In order to get that message across to our readers, we need to give them a new way to engage with that story. The innate subversion of expectations in irony is a wonderful way to do this.

For example, the classic fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast” uses irony very effectively to communicate its theme: don’t judge a person by their appearance.

Based on our preconceptions of this classic type of fairy tale, we would go in expecting the handsome young soldier to be the hero and the beastly monster to be the adversary. We might also expect the beautiful girl to be helpless and weak-spirited, waiting for her father to come in and save her. In this story, however, it’s the girl who saves her foolish father, the handsome soldier who shows himself to be the true monster, and the beast who becomes a hero to fight for those he cares about.

Not only do these subversions make for a powerful and engaging story, they do something very important for our readers: they make them ask themselves why they had these preconceptions in the first place. Why do we expect the handsome soldier to be noble and kind? Why do we expect the worst from the man with the beastly face before even giving him the chance to speak?

It’s these honest, sometimes uncomfortable questions, more than anything else, that make the theme real for your reader.

When looking for ways to weave theme throughout your story, consider what preconceived ideas your reader might be coming into the story with that might stand in the way of what you’re trying to say. Then see if you can find ways to make those ideas stand on their head. This will make the theme of your story more convincing, resonant, and powerful.

The one mistake to never make when using irony in your story

I’m going to tell you one of life’s great truths, which might be a bit difficult for some people to wrap their heads around. Embrace it, and you’ll leave your readers feeling a lot happier and more satisfied at the end of your story. Here it is:

You don’t need to be the smartest person in the room.

Have you ever been faced with a plot twist in a story and thought, “but that doesn’t make any sense”? Or realized that a surprising new piece of information rendered the events of the plot , or the effective slow build of characterization, absolutely meaningless?

These moments happen because the author became so enamored with the idea of pulling a fast one on the reader, revealing their cleverly assembled sleight-of-hand with the flourish of a theater curtain, that they forget the most important thing: the story .

When using irony in your work, the biggest mistake you can make is to look at it like a shiny, isolated hat trick. Nothing in your story is isolated; every moment fits together as a thread in a cohesive tapestry.

Remember that even if an ironic turn is unexpected, it needs to make sense within the world of your story. This means within the time and place you’ve created—for instance, you wouldn’t create an ironic twist in a medieval fantasy by suddenly having a character whip out a cellphone—but also within the world of your characters.

For example, if it turns out your frail damsel in distress is actually a powerful sorceress intent on destroying the hero, that’s not something you can just drop into your story unannounced like a grenade (no matter how tempting it might be). You need to begin laying down story seeds for that moment right from the beginning. You want your reader to be able to go back and say “ ohhh , I see what they did there. It all makes sense now.”

Irony—in particular the “twist ending”—can be fun, surprising, and unexpected, but it also needs to be a natural progression of the world you’ve created.

Irony is a literary device that reveals new dimension

To understand irony, we need to understand expectation in our audience or readers. When you’re able to manipulate these expectations, you engage your audience in surprising ways and maybe even teach them something new.

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The Three Types of Irony: Verbal, Situational and Dramatic

4-minute read

• 14th April 2020

Irony is often misunderstood. And the fact there are three types doesn’t help! But it is a useful tool in literary writing and may even crop up in daily life, so it is worth understanding the differences between the three key types of irony:

• Verbal irony (i.e., using words in a non-literal way)
• Situational irony (i.e., a difference between the expected and actual outcomes of a situation or action)
• Dramatic irony (i.e., an audience knowing something the characters don’t)

Check out our guide below for more on how these work. And if you’re concerned about misusing the term “irony” in your writing, you can also take a look at our post on using the word “ironic” correctly.

Verbal Irony

Verbal irony involves using words to mean the opposite of their literal definitions. Or, in simpler terms, verbal irony is saying one thing but meaning the opposite. For instance, imagine someone saying the following:

What a great day: I crashed my car and lost my winning lottery ticket!

Here, the speaker is using “great” ironically. They’ve actually had a terrible day! But they say the opposite of what they mean to draw attention to the difference between a “great” day and the one they really had.

One common form of verbal irony is sarcasm, where the speaker uses irony to mock or make fun of something. However, not all verbal irony is sarcastic: irony is only sarcasm when the aim is to ridicule.

Situational Irony

Situational irony occurs when the outcome of a circumstance or action does not match our expectations. Think about Aesop’s fable of “The Tortoise and the Hare.” Just like the hare, at the outset, we’d never expect the tortoise to win the race because hares are much faster. The unexpected nature of the tortoise’s eventual win emphasizes the moral of the story , that persistence and focus are important for success, or “slow and steady wins the race.”

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This type of irony allows writer to make a strong impression by subverting the reader’s expectations. It can be used simply to shock or entertain, but it can also encourage an audience to reflect on a key theme.

Dramatic Irony

Dramatic irony is a structural device that involves the audience knowing something the characters are unaware of. This is often a key piece of information about a situation and its likely outcome.

This type of irony increases tension, makes the audience feel powerful (I know something they don’t know!), and builds up anticipation. When will the truth finally be found out? How will the characters react?

A well-known literary example of dramatic irony is seen in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet . (Spoilers ahead!) Romeo kills himself because he believes Juliet is dead , when the audience knows that she is about to wake up.

Using Irony in Your Own Writing

If you’re considering using irony in your writing, keep these key points in mind:

• Irony involves things not being what they seem, so you can use it to entertain and surprise, but also to emphasize certain themes in a text.
• It can be used to comic or tragic effect.
• Irony can include a lot of things, from a few words used ironically to make a point to an overarching structural device that runs through a story.

As such, it is worth thinking about the three types of irony and which one(s) you intend to use. And if you’re working on some writing at the moment, remember that our expert proofreaders are on hand 24/7 to help you make sure the final product is the best it can be.

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Understanding the 3 Types of Irony

General Education

Irony is one of the great forces of language and literature. Irony calls on us to use our wit and instinctual understanding of right and wrong, and often requires that we see humor where there is none. Some say that irony is as old as literature itself, and they may be right— in the human condition, we have always sought to find meaning in paradoxes. Since irony is so ubiquitous, it’s important to understand the different types of irony, and how or when they’re used. You'll be able to identify the different types, and call out the right and wrong ways to use them.

What Is Irony?

In short, irony is a literary or rhetorical device that states or shows the opposite of what is actually true for humorous or emphatic effect. Irony states to contrary to what is meant, but in a way that still makes the actual meaning understood.

Many people use sarcasm in their everyday interactions, which is one form of verbal irony. For example, when discussing an upcoming dentist appointment, you might say in an overly excited voice, “I can’t wait!” This is one type of irony (we’ll get to the types soon!) and shows that irony is deeply ingrained into the way we communicate.

If you’re not a naturally ironic person, you may be wondering why writers use irony in novels. Wouldn’t it just make more sense to say what they mean? While you’re not wrong, using all types of irony can help create suspense, invoke particular emotions, or inform our opinion of a character and their motivations . When we discuss the types of irony, we’ll go more in depth as to how and why a writer might use irony, and what they hope to achieve.

The 3 Types of Irony

Situational irony.

Situational irony is when the outcome of a situation is different than our expectations. Situational irony can be used to create drama, to drive home to realities of a tragedy, or to create humor. You'll find situational irony often in books and plays, as well as movies and TV. This type of irony helps us and the character make sense of their reality, and weaves together humor and tragedy.

Here are some examples of situational irony

General: A friend posts on social media about how social media is killing society and we all need to interact in person

Humor: A thief on the run gets into a getaway car but it's out of gas

Tragic: In Guy de Maupassant's short story The Necklace , Mathilda borrows a necklace from a wealthy friend and loses it. She and her husband go into crippling debt and wind up in poverty to replace the necklace, only to find out years later that the original necklace was a fake to begin with.

Dramatic Irony

Dramatic irony is a device employed by storytellers wherein the audience is aware of what’s going on, but the characters are not . Dramatic irony includes three phases: Installation , when the audience is informed of something the character does not know. Exploitation , using the information to develop curiosity and an emotional response from the audience. Resolution , what happens after the character finds out the information.

Romeo and Juliet's death scene is a great example of dramatic irony. We the audience/reader know that Juliet is drugged to fake her own death, but Romeo does not. So, we watch Romeo commit suicide, knowing that Juliet is alive, and that he too would know the truth if he'd waited. In this example, the installation is earlier in the play, when we learn of Juliet's plan, aware that Romeo does not know. Exploitation is when we watch their death scenes unfold. And the resolution is the end of the play, when the families find out what happened and finally end their feud. 

Another well-known example is the story of Oedipus Rex. Dramatic irony was first invented for us in Greek dramas. So while most of us modern readers know the story mainly through the play, ancient Greek play-goers would have been well-informed on the story of Oedipus before going into the play. The Greek audience was able to watch the story unfold with this knowledge already in mind, even though the main character, Oedipus, is unaware. This creates dramatic tension throughout the story and adds a new emotional layer to this classic myth.

Verbal Irony

As we discussed, verbal irony is an important tool in speech. Verbal irony is also an important tool in writing. Verbal irony occurs when a person of character says one thing but means another .

I mentioned above that sarcasm is one form of verbal irony. But remember, the definitions of sarcasm and verbal irony are not interchangeable, and sarcasm is only one form of verbal irony. Sarcasm is generally a little harsher than overall verbal irony, and verbal irony can also include double entendre, over- or under-exaggeration, and rhetorical questions .

Writers may use verbal irony to prove a point, or to help us better understand a situation or character. If a character uses verbal irony, that irony may be in reference to the plot, but also may be in reference to the character's own emotions . Verbal irony, can give us insight into a character’s true state, and challenge us to look deeper into that character’s motivations.

Verbal irony can also be used in a more general sense to bring humor to the novel, play, movie, etc. Verbal irony also helps us develop analytical skills, since it requires us as readers to pay attention to the nuances of dialogue and language .

Satire is one example of verbal irony that carries throughout an entire text.

There are actually quite a few instances of verbal irony in the Harry Potter series. In The Order of the Phoenix , Aunt Petunia asks Harry why he keeps watching the news. He replies, “Well, it changes every day, you see.” Though Harry is offering a truthful response on the surface, as readers we can tell that his answer is contemptuous, and his meaning (to point out how silly Aunt Petunia’s inquiry is) contradicts with the actual words he speaks. If read in the right tone, this conversation definitely will at least get a giggle.

As we discussed, over exaggeration is one form of verbal irony we also use commonly. If someone laughs at a joke and says “I laughed so hard I almost exploded!” This is over exaggeration and one form of verbal irony, since clearly, the person didn’t almost explode from laughter, and the statement contradicts with reality.

How to Tell the Different Types of Irony Apart

Remember, writers use irony to make a point about the distinction between appearance and reality. Usually, use of irony is also meant to drive home a point about the theme or symbolism. To gain a full understanding of the text and the purpose of using irony, you have to know the type of irony being used.

Identifying Situational Irony

Situational irony can be a little harder to identify. Chances are, you've read or witnessed situational irony and had a reaction without thinking to yourself, "hey, this is situational irony." Situational irony can be funny, sad, or everything in between. Here are some important questions to ask yourself:

Does the outcome of the situation differ from your expectations?

Are both you and characters aware that the outcome is different than the expectations?

Does the difference in expectations versus reality elicit a funny, tragic, or otherwise emotional response?

The famous car sing-along song, Ironic by Alanis Morissette, is filled with situational irony; we know it's situational because each lyric explains an event, and an outcome that differs from our expectations. It is not verbal because no one is speaking, and not dramatic because the audience i.e. the listener, knows the same amount of information as the "characters" in the song. The lyric "He won the lottery and died the next day," for example clearly is a case of situational irony.

Identifying Dramatic Irony

The most important element of dramatic irony is that the audience knows something that the characters do not. Because we're usually aware as an audience what the characters do or do not know, dramatic irony should be relatively easy to identify.

When identifying dramatic irony, we have to ask ourselves: does it follow the trajectory of dramatic irony: Installation, exploitation, and resolution? Does the gap in knowledge between the audience and the characters increase or create tension? If the answer is yes, you're probably looking at dramatic irony.

Identifying Verbal Irony

One key part of verbal irony is that it is spoken out loud by a character. Since we use verbal irony so often in our speech, this type of irony may be immediately clear to you. However, nuances of speech are much harder to get across on paper, so you can ask yourself a few questions to help figure out the context, and confirm whether or not verbal irony is being used.

Read the scene carefully. Remember that verbal irony can have many tones! It can be playful, contemptuous, snarky, etc. So if you think characters are using verbal irony, you can ask yourself the following:

What else is going on in the scene? Is there a reason a character would be utilizing verbal irony? Do they have a point to prove?

What is the relationship between the character speaking and the character(s) being spoken to? Would the speaking character need to use verbal irony to get a point across?

Now that you've mastered irony in all its forms, take care not to overuse it. Ironically, irony can often be overused and overwrought. But definitely do use these tips to identify all three types of irony to better understand your test questions or reading materials. Authors employ all types of irony in their work, and it's an important part of finding meaning in books as well as in everyday life.

What's Next?

Irony isn't the only thing you need to know. Check out the 31 Literary Devices You Must Know and expand your knowledge of the Most Useful Rhetorical Devices while you're at it.

Getting ready for your AP tests? Make sure to check out our Expert Guides to the AP Literature and the AP Language and Composition tests.

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Carrie holds a Bachelors in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College, and is currently pursuing an MFA. She worked in book publishing for several years, and believes that books can open up new worlds. She loves reading, the outdoors, and learning about new things.

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Daily Writing Tips

What is irony (with examples).

This is a smart girl I’m talking about. She’s a college graduate and has done her fair share of writing and reporting. And even so, she doesn’t know the definition of irony.

Irony definitions

Merriam-Webster defines irony as:

1: a pretense of ignorance and of willingness to learn from another assumed in order to make the other’s false conceptions conspicuous by adroit questioning —called also Socratic irony

2: a) the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning b) a usually humorous or sardonic literary style or form characterized by irony c) an ironic expression or utterance

3: a) : incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result; an event or result marked by such incongruity b) incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play —called also dramatic irony, tragic irony

Here is Google’s definition for irony:

the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

A simple way of putting it is that irony usually signals a difference between the appearance of things and reality . For instance, here is how Wikipedia defines it:

Ironic statements (verbal irony) often convey a meaning exactly opposite from their literal meaning. In ironic situations (situational irony), actions often have an effect exactly opposite from what is intended.

Irony examples

Confusion is such that there is even a website, IsItIronic.com , where you can post your own question about whether or not something is ironic. Readers will cast their own vote – you can see the percentages of the votes – and the website will provide the final yes or no verdict.

Here are some examples of irony (or the lack of):

Is it ironic that I posted a video about how boring and useless Facebook is on Facebook? Reader’s Verdict: 93% NOT IRONIC; 7% IRONIC. Final Verdict: NOT IRONIC.

Is it ironic that the name of Britain’s biggest dog (until it died recently) was Tiny? Reader’s Verdict: 75% IRONIC; 25% NOT IRONIC. Final Verdict: IRONIC.

Is it ironic that I can’t go to church because I have a theology test to study for? Reader’s Verdict: 95% NOT IRONIC; 5% IRONIC. Final Verdict: NOT IRONIC.

Is it ironic that someone steps into a puddle and you make fun of them… and the next thing you know – YOU step in one!? Reader’s Verdict: 94% IRONIC; 6% NOT IRONIC. Final Verdict: IRONIC.

Has Alanis Morissette spoiled irony for us forever? Perhaps my generation is just in recovery from her 1995 lyrics. What do you think – do you understand the meaning of irony? Do people around you?

Video Recap

Irony versus Sarcasm

Sarcasm is when your words mean one thing when taken literally – but, in fact, you mean the opposite. It’s normally used when you’re annoyed about something.

For instance:

• “Oh, great!” – when there’s a huge line at the coffee shop
• “That’s just perfect” – when the printer jams yet again.
• “Lovely weather today” – when it’s pouring with rain.

Some people would describe these as forms of verbal irony (because they say the opposite to the intended meaning) – but it’s important to recognize that they’re not examples of an ironic situation. It isn’t “ironic” that there’s a line at the coffee shop … just unfortunate.

Sarcasm also normally involves mocking or even attacking someone – or at least expressing irritation. Irony tends to come into play more often in literary ways, to make people laugh, or to heighten the drama of a situation.

Irony versus Unfortunate

While a situation that’s ironic often is unfortunate, these words definitely aren’t synonyms. An ironic situation is one where an attempt to cause a desired outcome actually results in an undesired outcome, or one where something happens that’s opposite to what you’d expect.

• If you’re late for work because you lost your keys yet again, that’s unfortunate. (But not ironic.)
• If you’re late for work because, in an attempt to be on time, you put your keys somewhere safe and then forgot where they were, that’s ironic. (And also unfortunate.)
• If the printer jams at work when you’re in a big rush, that’s unfortunate. (But not ironic – unless your rushing caused the jam.)
• If the printer jams at work and you discover it’s because of the “fix” that your colleague performed to stop it from jamming, that’s ironic. (And unfortunate.)
• If your friend calls round to see you with an important package, but you’re out for the first time that week, that’s unfortunate. (But not ironic.)
• If your friend calls round to see you, but you’re out because you’re driving to their house to retrieve your package, that’s ironic.

Irony versus Paradox

A paradox occurs when something can’t logically work: it contradicts itself.

For instance, the statement “I am lying right now” is a paradox – either the speaker is lying (and so the statement is true … meaning they’re not lying) or they aren’t lying (but they can’t be telling the truth, either…)

Another example is the “grandfather paradox” in time travel – if you go back and kill your grandfather, you’ll never have existed … but then no-one would have killed your grandfather, so you must have existed … and so on.

Ironic situations aren’t paradoxes. They’re perfectly possible – though they might be unlikely.

For each sentence, decide whether the situation being described is ironic or not.

1. I spent so much time on Twitter, I was late for class.

2. I washed my car this morning, then it rained.

3. I took a different route to work to speed up my commute … only to end up in a huge traffic jam that made my commute take much longer.

4. I opened a window to try to cool the room down, but it was so hot outside that it warmed the room up instead.

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207 thoughts on “What Is Irony? (With Examples)”

Mmmmh . . .

I agree with Guest Author’s coworker, who found it ironic to have a Thanksgiving lunch post-Thanksgiving. Perhaps the real thanks was that the holiday was finally over and she could eat pumpkin pie without gratitude or remorse?

I also find some irony in the first and third “verdicts.” I thought all four examples demonstrated irony.

All of the above seem to fit into one or more of the dictionary definitions.

Am I missing the non-irony, or is some irony being missed?

I do know that young children don’t understand irony. They have no definition for it.

I’m going off to ponder . . .

Thank you, Guest Author, for raising some questions.

–Ellen

Yeah, I agree. Some of Alanis’s lyrics are hard to swallow as irony (yes, that was a jagged little pill reference), but I too disagree with the reader assessments. Like this one:

“Is it ironic that I posted a video about how boring and useless Facebook is on Facebook?”

Yes, ironic, definitely, unless you truly made a boring and useless video and put it on Facebook to hide it. If you expected your video to be seen and enjoyed (or to server a purpose) then, yes, that is irony all the way.

And is ironic synonymous with sarcastic? (dictionaries seem to think so)

I once read a Beetle Bailey Cartoon strip that really got irony “clear” to me 🙂 I couldn’t find a link to the exact strip I have in mind, but here’s the gist:

Sarge (looking at Zero’s crumpled shirt): That’s we very well pressed shirt you have on there!

Zero, the company simpleton (looking at his shirt): Looks crumpled to me!

Sarge: You don’t understand irony do you??

Next panel has Zero busy ironing his shirt, saying “I’ll show how who doesn’t understand irony!”

I’m also college-educated, but I’m also perplexed with this whole irony thing. With the 4 ironic/non-ironic examples given, I got them exactly opposite of the “official” verdicts. My personal jury is still out on the post-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner thing. I’m thinking it’s not ironic, it’s just a misnomer. I remember the whole fuss when Alanis’ song came out, with people saying how it was or wasn’t ironic, etc. You know, what I end up doing is avoiding the whole subject! I never use the word (for fear of using it inappropriately) and I don’t pass judgement (judgment) on people who do. Until the concept is clear to me, I will continue to avoid using the word. And I’m sorry to say that (perhaps ironically??) this post has not clarifiied things for me!

I think part of the problem is that people have different perceptions as to the extent of the difference between appearance and reality (using Guest Author’s simplified definition). For example–I can see taking the position that “I can’t go to church because I have a theology exam to study for” isn’t ironic–because there is no appearance clearly contraposed to the reality. But if the sentence were “I chose to study for my theology exam rather than go to church,” I think there clearly is a difference between the appearance (I am a devout person who values religious practice) and the reality (I am willing to forego religious practice in the pursuit of good grades in my religious studies program). So I have a problem with putting the question up for popular vote.

It occurs to me to wonder–granted that in fact the examples given do not constitute irony. What are they? They all involve a recognizable cognitive disconnect. What should we call them?

Oh, and Guest Author–unless your coworker managed to combine her college course of study with a shortened high school program, she is almost certainly not a girl. Unless, of course, as a matter of personal style you routinely use “boy” as your preferred term for males over 18.

I don’t think that Facebook sentence is ironic. Facebook might be boring and useless, and yet be the most popular social network around. Hence if the author of the video want some exposure, the best place to post it would still be Facebook.

In other words, Facebook being popular doesn’t imply it can’t be boring and useless.

Daniel–by posting the video on Facebook in order to gain exposure, the author may not be contradicting the claim that Facebook is boring, but definitely IS contradicting the claim that Facebook is useless. That is the disconnect between appearance and reality in that case.

I think it is fully ironic that someone would offer you a Thanksgiving lunch on the one day of the year that your are most likely to have your own Thanksgiving leftovers in your brown paper bag, yes.

And I find irony in all of the examples given, also.

Hi , can you please confirm if the sentence mentioned in the beginning ” the procrastinator’s meeting has been postponed – is this an irony or not ?I think it is ….

I do believe your friends your friends remarks have both an ironic and sarcastic touch. The appearance of giving thanks for the end of the high stress period of organizing to give thanks borders towards irony.

Such are words. They are our slaves and masters ironically?

to thebluebird11: How ironic! You just said “…I will continue to avoid using the word.” And then you used it in the next sentence…

In Australia and Britain, a commonly-held notion – or prejudice really – is that Americans have an impoverished sense of irony. Without meaning to be rude, I wonder how much truth there is in this. And how much does a cultural trait like this might contribute to the difficulty in grasping the word’s meaning? (I suspect little and that most Americans probably do know irony when they hear it, even if they’re not always able to label it as such. Equally, Aussies and Brits can be just as ignorant. Pot. Kettle. Black.)

Michael Corey—I have you covered in that my mother was Australian and my father British. In my experience, my father had a heightened sense of irony. Maybe that’s why I laugh so hard at Monty Python. My mother didn’t get it at all. My father saw the ridiculous in everything, and the contradiction in ALL human endeavors. Most people just do not recognize how much they contradict themselves daily. Thus the popularity of Ricky Gervais and the Office.

It seems that irony is the incongruity between an expected outcome and the actual outcome.

In no way is irony related to or similar to sarcasm.

Irony can be humorous or it can be tragic. For example, it is a tragic irony that Hamlet, thinking his father is hiding behind the curtain runs his sword through him, only to learn that it is the father of the woman he was about to marry. Thus, finally finding the courage to act, his action is grossly misdirected and he kills an innocent who would have been his father-in-law; a man of whom he is most fond. This tragedy is compounded when his betrothed goes mad and eventually kills herself.

All of this because he made an assumption about who was hiding behind the curtain. Even four hundred years ago they knew what happens when you assume.

Shakespeare knew irony very well and used it to great effect.

Saying “great weather we are having today” when it is raining cats and dogs seems to me more like sarcasm than irony. However, commenting on how beautiful the weather is half an hour before a tornado rips through your neighborhood would be ironic.

In the first case the comment is intentionally opposed to reality and in the second case an expectation is set and then a far different reality results. This is a subtle difference, but I think it is what distinguishes sarcasm from irony. In sarcasm a person makes a statement intentionally contrary to reality, usually for the sake of dark humor, and in irony a person acts on a belief that they later discover is mistaken.

Interesting topic and something one does not think about too often. Excellent food for thought!

@M.Corey and Garrison: It’s OK with me if Aussies and Brits think we state-siders have an impoverished sense of irony. Personally I don’t feel an emptiness in my soul just because I’m still not clear on the concept. I understand sarcasm when I hear it and can dish it too. I understand tragedy and comedy (and have been on both ends of both). To take it further and talk about tragic irony, specifically the Hamlet example, was very interesting. I definitely comprehend the tragedy there, and I see the irony beyond that. However, I know that people call many things “ironic” when in fact they are NOT. These things are unfortunate, or tragic, or funny, or incorrect, or something else…even, as I said before, just a case of a misnomer. We studied Shakespeare (a Brit!) in high school, but you know how that is…we’d all rather have been gossiping over french fries and diet soda than studying The Bard. So most of it went over our heads (or perhaps in one ear and out the other), and today I probably could not even tell you a single plot. So maybe the Brits (and Aussies?) have mastered irony better than we Americans. They’ve certainly had a longer go at it! 🙂

Dear guest author,

It is definitely ironic that a guest author wrote a long-winding post about what is and is not ironic, while making it reasonably apparent that they do not have a clear idea of which is which and what is what, when it comes to what is and what is not ironic. (I almost choked on that mouthful.) Hmm, I wonder: It all seems a tad ironic to me.

Perhaps it is best for their sake that the guest author did not reveal their name. In my opinion, the person is clearly an intelligent person who got caught up in a meandering warren of the meanings of ironic.

I must say, the same happens to me sometimes, but it usually happens in the dank, dark, secret recesses of my mind and I choose not make my befuddlement public. You all will be the judge of whether I have managed to avoid such a pitfall here.

It seems to me YourDictionary.com does an exceptional job of handling the sundry meanings of ironic in a concise manner.

Here is wishing a Merry Christmas and a Holy Nativity of Christ feast to all.

Mensch Myer, vergessen!

Oh, and Guest Author–unless your coworker managed to combine her college course of study with a shortened high school program, she is almost certainly not a girl. Unless, of course, as a matter of personal style you routinely use “boy” as your preferred term for males over 18.

In Middle English, the term “girl” was applied to children (of both sexes). In modern English, it’s become limited to females, but only secondarily to children, unlike “boy”. Adult women often refer to themselves as “girls”, even in their nineties (and, in a more limited context, to adult males as “boys”, e.g., a woman might say her husband is having “a night out with the boys” without implying he’s a pædophile…but you’re less likely hear a male say that).

What’s supposed to be magic about 18, though? I’d stop calling females “girls” in the “child” sense long before they were 18…

F’in-A , Bubba!

Peter–your points are valid. However, the generation which referred to itself as “girls” into the grey-hair ages is now all pretty much grey haired. I’m at the bottom end of that generation, but I do not refer to myself in that manner, and I would find it deeply offensive if a male colleague were to refer to me as a “smart girl.” As you almost certainly recognize, this is a by-product of the struggle that changed perceptions of gender roles in the 60s and 70s. “Girl” was routinely used, by men, to refer to any adult woman in a business setting, while “boy” was used to refer to an adult male only in a handful of idioms such as the one you reference.

I use 18 as the cut-off because that is the age of majority in most states. Between the ages of roughly 12 and 18, however, it can be difficult to know how to refer to someone of either gender. Most people would not refer to a high-school junior as a woman–or a man.

In any event, my point is that if you use “girl” to describe a female in a given situation, but do not use “boy” to describe a male in the same situation, it is–however unintentionally–a put-down.

Kathryn, This is getting well off topic, but: As with “ma’am” which was discussed in a recent blog entry, I think it’s important to be aware of the possible negative connotation of calling any adult a “girl,” and you’ve made it clear that it is a put-down to YOU, but I know for a fact that it is not universally so by any stretch, and I doubt it would read as a put down in this context to the vast majority of the audience.

ApK: Well, yes, it is OT at this point, so I’ll say this and then shut up, regardless of any response. I disagree profoundly with your perception that most women in the workplace would not find it a putdown to be described by a colleague as “a smart girl.” Admittedly, we don’t know the gender of the colleague, and just as an adult male African-Americans might find it less offensive to be referred to as a boy if the speaker were of African origin, women can probably stomach being called “girl” by other women better than by men. But there are plenty of us to whom it is pejorative regardless of who uses it.

On reflection, I realize this may be one of those “think about your audience” issues. The use of such a term in what should–given the nature of the venue–be a carefully written, thoughtfully edited, post in which each word and phrase is given some attention before reaching the final draft detracts substantially, to my mind, from the credibility and reliability of what follows. And I do not believe I am alone in that.

Hog wash! Who cares, Kathryn.

I am finding fewer and fewer people are concerned enough about being called a “girl,” or a “boy” for that matter, to exhibit such a gross display of humanistic correctness as is evidenced in your comment; other, that is, than some of the feminists among us, and their concern, where it exists, is based on a concern for their self-worth.

Indeed, why, as long as the terms were used in a spirit of camaraderie, would someone take it as an affront worthy of note to be called a “girl” or a “boy,” where it not for a deficiency in their view of their own self-worth. Such would constitute a self-inflicted insult.

Fortunately, our society seems finally to be on the way to healing the wounds inflicted by [in your words] “the struggle that changed perceptions of gender roles in the 60s and 70s.” The narrow view of the gender rolls of those earlier times are thankfully changed forever as a result of that struggle, despite the sometimes beastly, hurtful acts committed in its name. Now we are thankfully in the midst of a course correction—historically, such course corrections always follow—that allows men and women to assume their emancipated gender rolls as granted by their Creator. Such course corrections are a part of the natural flow of societal growth brought about over time, due in large measure to the insights of people of faith; that is to say, people who aspire to a higher ideal than they can hope to attain sans the aid of a higher power.

After all is said and done, girls and women, and boys and men, have their natural rolls to play as absolute equals in life; e.g., men inseminate and women bear the inseminated fruit of their wombs. The roll of women in this case is far superior to that of men. Men do play a superior roll in some aspects of life, but it remains that if all men were to die tomorrow, women could and surely would regenerate the race of man (or mankind or Homo sapiens, as you will) for the good of the world.

If you have read this far, Kathryn, you now know this retort to your thesis is not a put-down of women, nor is it a put-down of men: both genders are absolute equals in life with absolutely equal rights.

Perhaps it is ironic that a discussion of irony should devolve into a vacuous argument over the current state of politically correct think-speak.

From now on I propose we dispense with gender exclusive pronouns and refer to everyone inclusively as “she/he/it” which can be commonly accepted in the abbreviated form of: s/h/it.

Problem solved.

@ Garrison, I am SO down with that LOL Where were your pithy solutions when the post from a week or some ago, about the phrase “that’s so gay,” devolved into a message board for gay dating or something!!

@Garrison: You sir are a card.

Kathryn: I don’t think it’s only “grey-hairs”; my sister was telling me a story about “a girl at work” last week, etc. She’s 38 (my sister, not the co-worker). This is not in the US…but I saw a US TV show recently where a 30-something responded to the suggestion that she wouldn’t be able to do something with “Why? Because I’m a girl?”

Lawrence: *speechless* (I’m not sure whether you’re insane or joking, but either way it’s in bad taste)

When I was in my late twenties felt totally patronised by my boss calling me a lad. Some of us get over our fragile egos, and some do not. At fifty three I wish more people would call me lad or boy and cease calling me “an old coot”!!!

Peter, I can only surmise from your vacuous comment that humanistic correctness is turning your mind into an inane waste land. I don’t allow your good mind to succumb to such malevolent forces.

Whoops, I meant to say:

Peter, I can only surmise from your vacuous comment that humanistic correctness is turning your mind into an inane waste land. Don’t allow your good mind to succumb to such malevolent forces.

Here’s what I use when describing irony: 1. The truth is different than what is perceived. 2. The outcome is different than what is expected.

Kudos for the Hamlet reference. Hurrah for Shakespeare!

@Precise Edit: This whole subject is still clear as mud to me. I am no expert, but it would seem to me that just because truth is different from perception, and/or outcome doesn’t meet expectations, does not mean something is ironic. There must be some other twist that makes an ordinary misperception, or an unexpected outcome, take on the cloak of irony. Again, I see it clearly with the Hamlet example, because in this case, he killed the person he would LEAST want to kill. So, just because someone wants, or is led to expect, sunny weather for his wedding, doesn’t mean that rain on his wedding day is ironic. It might be messy, inconvenient, annoying, or any number of other things (including perhaps a bad omen), but it is not ironic. (Sorry, Alanis). Precise Edit, you are usually on the mark with your comments, so see if you can fine-tune your definitions for me!

I’ll try, but be warned: I’m not feeling very literate at the moment. Still…

The Hamlet scene is not an example of irony because he killed the person he least desired to kill. What makes it ironic is that he thought he was killing someone else. His perception of who was behind the curtain was incorrect, and the action he took led to a consequence he didn’t intend.

From the Princeton word web:

1. “humorously sarcastic or mocking” This is often considered comedic irony, which is making a statement that is obviously not true in order to convey a specific meaning. Thus, it’s irony when someone comments on the beautiful day when, in fact, the weather is miserable. The message being conveyed is contrary to the statement being made.

2. “characterized by often poignant difference or incongruity between what is expected and what actually is” This is often considered tragic irony, which is expecting one thing and getting another. This is the Hamlet example.

Perhaps you are struggling not with understanding “irony” but with integrating these definitions with your existing, personal definition of irony, created through exposure to the use (and misuse) of the word irony. But if that’s the case, you are definately in good company–And I don’t just mean Alanis’s.

@ Precise Edit: “What makes it ironic is that he thought he was killing someone else. His perception of who was behind the curtain was incorrect, and the action he took led to a consequence he didn’t intend.” Yes, exactly. And I understand “tragic irony.”

However, someone saying “We’re having lovely weather” when in fact we are not, is sarcasm, not irony. I’m sure there is a difference between the two. Even saying “We’re having lovely weather” and then getting hit by a tornado 30 minutes later doesn’t seem to warrant the term irony, to me. It seems, you know, unfortunate, accidental, tragic, coincidental, or something, but not really ironic.

Maybe it’s irony when the ramifications of the [unexpected/undesired] outcome are really significant, far-reaching, etc. I mean, let’s take the tornado example. If in fact someone blithely stated “Lovely weather we’re having,” and in fact was ignorant that a tornado was approaching (especially if others were aware of this fact), and this person performed some action based on his ignorance of the actual fact that the tornado was approaching; let’s say he went and closed on a house just prior to the tornado hitting, and then this person ended up dead, financially ruined, house blown away, etc., well, I can see irony in that.

A pity, the movement that was supposed to liberate women turns them into prisoners of petty arguments over whether they are girls, ladies, women or womyn. A tragic irony?

@Bobbi: Ummm…no.

Bobbi, well said.

Well, I guess the irony of this page is how many don’t understand irony at all. Serving Thanksgiving lunch the day after Thanksgiving is in NO WAY ironic. It’s just because they couldn’t do it on the day itself because it’s a holiday. Of course it would make more sense to serve it the day before, but really, who’s counting?

Uploading video onto FB about how boring and useless FB is: not ironic unless… the video itself is useless and boring.

Calling big dog tiny: ironic. Much the same effect can be had by calling a small dog Killer or Tyson.

Missing church to study for theology test: I think we are agreed this is not ironic, just poor planning.

Stepping in puddle after mocking others: definitely not ironic, just coincidence. A lot of people confuse irony with coincidence, like the football commentators who tell us it’s ironic that a player scores against a club he used to play for. NO!

There is an Irish comedian called Ed Byrne who made his early career based on using the Alanis Morrisette song as illustration that Americans didn’t understand irony. The irony of that was: she’s Canadian.

>>Uploading video onto FB about how boring and useless FB is: not ironic unless… the video itself is useless and boring.<<

Sorry, whoever you are, but you saying it doesn't make it so. We've given the reason it's ironic, why do you say it's not?

Something is ironic when, according to the Oxford Dictionary of English, it happens in the opposite way to what is expected, and typically causes ‘wry amusement’ as a result.

I would think the first element is easy to detect, whilst the second may be a little harder and more subjective.

@Rocker: This isn’t irony, but I’ve followed Ed Byrne for several years and would give him a little more credit than to say he ‘made his early career’ on the Morisette joke, but your point stands otherwise. He’s a funny, mad bugger in any case.

@Rocker: Agreed that Thanksgiving dinner for lunch the next day is not ironic. Agreed that a video about how boring/useless FB is has to be a boring/useless video in order to be ironic. (Sorry, ApK, we will have to agree to disagree, I guess). Calling a big dog Tiny or a small dog Tyson, not ironic; there is a word for that, and it is “oxymoron.” Or perhaps, in the case of a small dog, wishful thinking, the Napoleon complex, you know? But not irony. I personally thought that the missing church/theology test was kind of ironic, but if it was just poor planning, well, whatever. Stepping in the puddle after making fun of someone who stepped in a puddle is just desserts, fate, karma, what-goes-around-comes-around, plus/minus irony. I LMAO when I read your comment about Alanis being Canadian; now that IS ironic, eh? OK: Irony to me is: A cardiologist dying of a heart attack, a dentist who wears dentures, a neurologist who has a stroke…a lawyer who gets sued, I don’t know…stuff along those lines…

Writing a song about irony, which supposedly contains examples of irony, but which aren’t ironic, is the very definition of irony.

It is tragic irony, or poetic justice. If something couldn’t be construed as poetic justice (depending on how dark your sense of humour is) then it’s also unlikely to be ironic.

I read all these comments on here, and everyone keeps confusing me with what is ironic and what is not.

(I am researching on examples of irony for my english.)

If anyone could help me, it would be greatly appreciated.

>>If anyone could help me, it would be greatly appreciated.<<

Obviously, we can't.

How ironic! On a page with an article on irony and so many intelligent people commenting on it…and we still can’t help Angie!

Manasvini example is sarcasm not irony. If you say that ‘someone is being ironic’ then you don’t understand the difference between sarcasm and irony. The word ‘ironic’ refers to a situation or juxtaposition, not the act of conveying information of such. Such an utterance would always be sarcastic if the intention was to be ‘ironic’ – Yes, I know it’s ironic I would use the term ‘ironic’ as an example of sarcasm, that’s the point. 🙂

My experience of living in USA leads me to believe the general populace didn’t understand sarcasm until quite recently, and even now it only seems understood by regular viewers of PBS – See any episode of House MD for a masterclass on sarcasm.

As a Brit living in Austin, Texas I quickly learned people here think I am being mean bordering on rude when in fact I am being humorously sarcastic. Maybe only Brits and Aussies do that.

@Anton: Yeah, we Americans don’t understand sarcasm at all. Isn’t that ironic? No, actually that was humorously sarcastic. I wasn’t aware that this type of thing was limited to certain continents. First of all, apparently YOU don’t understand the difference between sarcasm and irony. You can relay an ironic story and be completely devoid of sarcasm, and vice versa. Second of all, if people think you’re being mean and rude, perhaps it’s because you ARE being mean and rude. I’m pretty sure I don’t know you, so I can’t say for sure. An anecdote that comes to mind is the story of a friend of mine, who, if she saw someone wearing some garish outfit (e.g., a basket of fruit on her head), she would say, sotto voce, “Damn! I forgot to wear my fruit basket today!” Had she said this so that the fruit-basket-wearer could have heard her, that would have been mean. Had she said it to her face, that would have been mean AND rude. Had she then been required to participate in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and wear a fruit basket on HER head the following week, THAT, my friend, IMHO, is irony. Had she perhaps been killed when the fruit basket caused her to topple over and be run over by a float, that would have been tragic irony. That’s how I, as an American, see it anyway. Feel free to humorously sarcastically shoot my opinion down.

This comment thread is getting a tad wearisome with the growing number of people (often from across the pond, oddly enough) who think their own narrow understanding of irony is the be-all and end-all on the topic.

Still waiting for some one to explain to me why they think the Facebook example thing is NOT ironic, rather than just telling me I’m wrong.

bird, these folks also seem to missing the idea that, even if you choose to ignore the m-w definition definition of irony that is remarkably similar to sarcasm, one still might use irony to express sarcasm, and that does not mean we..uh…they…are confusing the two.

sigh. ApK, I have read and re-read the M-W definitions of sarcasm and irony, and I am the first to admit (scroll w-a-a-a-a-ay up in this thread) that I do not exactly understand what is or isn’t ironic, at least in the examples given. I disagreed with that poll where people said which ones they thought were ironic or not. IIRC, I think I agree with you that the FB thing was ironic. Perhaps similar to beauty being in the eyes of the beholder, irony is in the ears of the hearer. Also, to make matters more confusing, it seems to me that the M-W definition of irony has it pretty much synonymous with sarcasm. To settle the issue once and for all, I’d agree to go with that, but I do realize that there are differences (as in my previous post, stating that irony and sarcasm can exist separately, and are not necessarily the same, nor are they always interchangeable). I’m not going to get my dander up because some Brit sojourning in Texas thinks that all Americans are dolts. And actually, Austin is a really nice college town with intelligent people and relaxing surroundings…if Anton finds these people too ignorant for his liking, he can, you know, leave. As another friend of mine often says, “There are 49 other states.” OK, make it 48…don’t come to Florida. You won’t like it here either! LOL.

bird, I meant to be criticizing the Brits who were saying all Americans were dolts, and to be agreeing with you, and adding to your previous response to Anton. I think I may have my made intent somewhat incomprehensible. Sorry!

To sum up: Some Americans do understand irony, some don’t, some Brits do, some don’t, and none of us appear to know for sure which group we or other people are in.

I thought I did, and am hoping to find out for sure.

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Literary Techniques: Irony

In this post, we explain what irony is, how to analyse it, and how to discuss it in your essays.

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Year 11 english, vce english units 3 & 4.

Welcome to our glossary of Literary Techniques IRONY post. This post gives a detailed explanation of one of the many techniques you can find in our Glossary of Literary Techniques for analysing written texts.

Students commonly ask the following questions about irony:

• What is irony?
• How is irony different to satire or parody?
• Is there only one type of irony?
• How do I analyse texts for irony?
• How do I explain what irony does?

In this post, we explain what irony is. We look at the different types of irony, and explain how they work and differ from one another. We discuss how it represents meaning and relates to concepts like parody and satire. Finally, we walk you through a step-by-step process for writing about it in your responses.

Table of Contents

1. What is Irony? 3. How Does Irony Work? 3. How to Analyse Irony 4. How to differentiate the Types of Irony – Flowchart 5. How to Analyse Verbal Irony – Step-by-Step 6.  How to Analyse Situational Irony – Step-by-Step 7.  How to Analyse Structural Irony – Step-by-Step 8.  How to Analyse Dramatic Irony – Step-by-Step 9. What Next?

Irony is a technique that is very commonly used and a powerful technique. It is an important part of the humour in parody and satire.

Without irony, there would be no sarcasm.

Irony comes in three broad forms:

• situational,
• structural, and

Let’s have a closer look at what irony is and the different forms it takes.

What is Irony?

Irony is one of the most important techniques in all literature.

There are four broad types of irony we shall concern ourselves with:

Clearly, irony is a complex thing. To better understand it and how it works, let’s have a look at the different broad types of it we encounter in literature and texts.

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How Do The Different Types of Irony Work?

There are three main categories of Irony you will encounter. They are verbal, situational, and structural. Verbal irony and situational irony are quite similar, while structural irony is quite distinct.

• Verbal Irony

When a speaker is ironic, they are expressing ideas and feelings using language that conventionally would mean something quite different or antithetical. A character may be having a horrible day, but when asked they instead state that, “My day is fantastic!” This statement is ironic, more specifically it is being sarcastic. Verbal irony is largely comic because of its timing. Verbal irony is very common, but this doesn’t mean that it is not effective.

For example, one of the most powerful lines from T.S Eliot’s The Journey of the Magi  works because of verbal irony. The persona, upon narrating their arrival at Jesus’ birth, states that:

‘ Finding the place; it was (you might say) satisfactory .’

This is a significant understatement.

This is the site where the Christian messiah was born, this is the purpose of the Magus’ journey. But this ironic understatement is important because it points to the more personal issue that emerges from the birth of Jesus – the alienation of the new Christians from their societies. The irony in this observation draws the reader’s focus away from the Birth and towards the experience of the narrator, which is a more personal and relatable experience.

What is striking about this example is that the verbal irony doesn’t strive to be humorous, but instead conveys the seriousness and gravity of the poet’s concern – the difficulty of maintaining a faith that others do not.

Remember, if you think you’ve worked out an instance of irony, ask yourself whether it’s plausible that the person speaking would mean what they are saying, or whether what they’re saying is likely to be an expression of what they really feel.

• Situational Irony

Situational irony occurs when the situation does not reflect the expectations of what is happening. It is a little harder to spot in a written text than verbal irony.

Let’s consider a famous example of situational irony from George Orwell’s  Nineteen Eighty-Four .

In the following dialogue, Symes is discussing the Newspeak Dictionary that he is working on for Big Brother and the IngSoc party. He says:

‘”The Eleventh Edition is the definitive edition,’ he said. ‘We’re getting the language into its final shape — the shape it’s going to have when nobody speaks anything else. When we’ve finished with it, people like you will have to learn it all over again. You think, I dare say, that our chief job is inventing new words. But not a bit of it! We’re destroying words — scores of them, hundreds of them, every day. We’re cutting the language down to the bone. The Eleventh Edition won’t contain a single word that will become obsolete before the year 2050.”‘

In this example, Symes is a linguist working on making a dictionary. This may sound like a boring topic, but it is made interesting by his observation that “ We’re destroying words – scores of them, hundreds of them, every day.” This is the exact opposite that we’d expect for a linguist to be celebrating. Nor is this said in an ironic, or sarcastic manner, rather Symes is being very serious. This is an example of situational irony, the practice of the bibliophile is antithetical to the role we ascribe to an editor of dictionaries. It is this incongruity – a disparity between reality and expectation – that makes Nineteen Eighty-Four such an effective dystopia.

• Structural Irony

Structural irony occurs when the structure of something demonstrates the incongruity between what people think has occurred and what has occurred. This is clear when composers use unreliable narrators or when narrators are particularly naive. Examples of this are JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye or F Scott Fitzgerald’s  The Great Gatsby .

Margaret Atwood makes extensive use of irony in the Penelopiad . We know this in part because, as Atwood shows us, it is unlikely that a woman in the position of the narrator would hold the sorts of views she articulates. What her ironic expression suggests is that, due to being a woman in a patriarchal society, she is cautious about voicing her true opinion.

• Dramatic Irony

Dramatic irony is a specific form of structural irony. It relies on an audience member being aware of something that the characters are not aware of.  Let’s look at an example from Act 1 Scene 2 of Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part 1 :

Prince Hal: So, when this loose behaviour I throw off And pay the debt I never promisèd, By how much better than my word I am, By so much shall I falsify men’s hopes; And like bright metal on a sullen ground, My reformation, glitt’ring o’er my fault, Shall show more goodly and attract more eyes Than that which hath no foil to set it off. I’ll so offend to make offence a skill, Redeeming time when men think least I will. (I.ii. 173–195 )

In this soliloquy, Prince Hal, later Henry V, admits that he is playing an act. At this point in the play, he is hanging around an unsavoury group of people – the Boar’s Head Company – and getting up to adolescent mischief.

When Hal states that “ when this loose behaviour I throw off / and pay the debt I never promised ” he is admitting that he is not actually being mischievous for the sake of being a spoilt and rebellious prince. Rather, he is preparing the circumstances for a narrative of personal reformation that will gain him respect, power, and destroy his rival, Hotspur. Hal is talking about triumphing over his rival when he uses the simile ‘and like bright metal on a sullen ground,/ my reformation, glitt’ring o’er my fault, / shall show more goodly and attract more eyes.’

The reason this piece of dramatic irony is so powerful in Henry IV Part 1 is that it forges a pact between the audience and Hal by sharing a secret. The audience now knows something that nobody on the stage knows. This also develops tension for the audience by foreshadowing the action to come in the play .

How to Analyse Irony:

Now you know what irony is, you need to figure out how to analyse it. What we will do now is break down the process of analysing irony into two step-by-step guides. One guide is for verbal irony and situational irony, and the other guide for structural irony and dramatic iron.

Let’s consider the step-by-step process used for identifying and analysing verbal or situational irony:

Situational or verbal Irony

• Ask yourself if the character is saying something that matches the situation, mood, or surroundings. If there is no incongruity, that is if things match up – then there is no verbal or situational irony.
• If the character is using a mocking tone, this is verbal irony and indicates sarcasm.
• If the character states this seriously without an ironic or sarcastic intent, then this is situational irony.
• See what the irony is emphasising. For example, in Nineteen Eighty-Four  when Symes discusses the destruction of words, he is emphasising social control through the manipulation of common language and idiom.
• What does this tell us about the character who utters it?
• What does this tell us about the setting of the text?
• What ideas does this convey to the reader?
• What themes in the text does this use of irony directly relate to?
• Now you must relate your insights using a T.E.E.L structure. You should discuss verbal or situational irony in the following manner: ‘The character’s statement that, “oh, great it’s raining again!” is verbal irony. The composer uses the character’s ironic statement about the weather to indicate that they’re tired of constant rain in the text’s setting.’

Structural or dramatic Irony

Now let’s see what steps we need to think about when we analyse  structural irony .

Structural irony is a little different so it will require a slightly different approach. The process for analysing structural irony is:

• Ask yourself if the structure of the text is antithetical to what is happening inside the text. This is often difficult to uncover during the first reading of the text.
• If it is occurring in a dramatic or filmic text, then it is dramatic irony.
• If it is occurring in a novel, poem, or narrative text, then it is structural irony.
• Some dramatic texts employ structural irony – for example, in  Hamlet , the eponymous character often talks of how swiftly and violently he will get his revenge. However, it takes him 3 very long acts before he does any kind of avenging at all. This is structural irony and not dramatic irony.
• See what the use of irony does to characterise the events or characters in the text. What things is the use of irony contrasting?
• Why is the irony contrasting the audience’s knowledge of events with a character’s? This is dramatic irony, but what does it tell the audience about the character? How does it develop tension for the viewer?
• Is the structural irony telling us about a particular quality of the narrator or character? If the character is unreliable, is it because they are naive, or dishonest, or some other reason – for example, mental health complications.
• What qualities of the characters or settings does the irony develop?
• What central theme, or themes, in the text is the irony emphasising?
• Discuss your insights using a T.E.E.L structure. Remember, structural or dramatic irony should be able to be described in the following way: ‘the composer uses structural irony in their text in their unreliable narrator. The narrator leads the reader to believe that the events in the text are true and accurate when the conclusion to the text suggests quite clearly that the opposite is true.’

If you are unsure of what sort of irony you are trying to analyse and are unsure of which step-by-step guide you specifically need. Use this flowchart:

Flowchart: How to Identify a Type of Irony (©Matrix 2017)

Now you know how to tell your types of irony apart. Let’s have a look at some step-by-step guides. We’ve included a detailed example and response for each type of irony. If you need to jump to a specific form of irony, use the links below:

Afterwards, we’ll look at some specific examples of irony and some written responses discussing it effectively.

Analysing Verbal Irony – A Step-By-Step Guide

For this example, we will look at the following passage from Authur Miller’s  The Crucible . The following lines come from Act 3:

Hathorne: But a poppet will keep fifteen years, will it not? Proctor: It will keep if it is kept, but Mary Warren swears she never saw no poppets in my house, nor anyone else. Parris: Why could there not have been poppets hid where no one ever saw them? Proctor: [furious] There might also be a dragon with five legs in my house, but no one has ever seen it. Parris: We are here, Your Honor, precisely to discover what no one has ever seen. Proctor: Mr. Danforth, what profit this girl to turn herself about? What may Mary Warren gain but hard questioning and worse? Danforth: You are charging Abigail Williams with a marvellous cool plot to murder. Do you understand that? Proctor: I do, sir. I believe she means to murder

Step 1: Decipher if what is said matches the situation

We have to figure out if what is being said matches the situation. In this scene, John Proctor is accusing the main witness in a trial, Abigail, of lying. Abigail has accused Proctor’s wife of witchcraft and has planted a poppet – a little doll – in the house to incriminate her. The members of the court, Danforth and Hathorne, are unwilling to accept this new evidence because it threatens all of the prosecutions that are happening in the town.

Proctor challenges the court’s reluctance to believe this new evidence with the absurd and sarcastic remark that “ There might also be a dragon with five legs in my house, but no one has seen it. ” Aware that Proctor’s argument challenges the court’s case and his own tenuous position, Parris’ assertion that “ We are here… to discover what nobody has ever seen ” is stated with a biting tone to undermine Proctor’s argument.

Parris’ statement is incongruous with the setting and situation. Courts rely on evidence and witness testimony. But the court in Salem has begun to rely on invisible evidence to persecute “invisible crimes” to maintain its own authority. Because of this, we can ascertain that there is either verbal or situational irony in the dialogue.

Step 2: Does the statement conflict with the setting intentionally?

Clearly, there is irony in this passage. Both Proctor and Parris are utilising sarcasm in their remarks. Proctor’s remark concerning dragons is absurd and mocking. Proctor is suggesting that the court may as well believe in mythical creatures as believe in tenuous testimony. This use of sarcasm is an ironic response to a flawed legal proceeding.

Similarly, Parris – who perceives Proctor as a threat – responds to sarcasm with sarcasm. His reminder to the court that “we are here to discover what nobody has ever seen” is an attempt to refute Proctor. However, it is unintentionally verbally ironic. Proctor doesn’t realise that in accusing Proctor and defending the court he is drawing attention to the absurdity of the court’s processes – the pursuit of charges based on what “nobody has seen.”

Both of these are examples of verbal irony, but they are functioning in different ways.

Step 3: See what the irony is emphasising

Now we have to figure out what the composer is using the irony for in this scene. Both Proctor and Parris are making statements that reflect their particular characters and motives, but that also make statements that characterise the court and legal proceeding at the heart of  The Crucible.

We take legal systems to be implicit and fair. The symbol of justice wearing a blindfold is demonstrative of this.

The remark by Proctor is intentionally critical of the unfair and, in his view, absurd nature of the trial. He uses sarcasm to convey his anger at the court. While Parris uses his remark to undermine Proctor and challenge his rising authority, he inadvertently draws attention to a key aspect of the Salem Witch Trials. The trials are prosecuting invisible crimes that have had no tangible effect on anybody.

Parris unintentionally points to the fact that the Salem trials were implicitly unjust because they prosecute invisible things relying on evidence that hasn’t been witnessed. Both things that are antithetical to the processes of justice.

This conveys the themes of tyranny, justice, and community dissension.

Step 4: Unpack how meaning is being represented by the usage of irony

Now we know the theme that is being emphasised, we need to develop the ideas being represented by the irony. Based on what we know of the text, the characters, and our understanding of the technique of irony we can deduce the following:

• Proctor is opposed to the court and is deeply critical of its methods and aims. He uses sarcasm to criticise its reliance on unjust methods. Similarly, this presents Parris as a man who is hiding behind the court to protect his own reputation.
• This tells the reader that the setting of  The Crucible is full of institutional corruption and that the community is riven by distrust and malice.
• This represents to the audience the dangers of a corrupt judiciary and the collapse of the separation of powers between the legislature, the judiciary, and the executive branches of government.
• Clearly, the irony in this scene is emphasising the lack of legal process in the Salem Trials and thereby the implicit corruption in the court. This addresses the themes of corruption and tyranny.

Step 5:  Discuss the example using a T.E.E.L Structure

It is not enough to present an example of irony, you need to explain how it develops meaning and connects to your text. This means you need to use a T.E.E.L structure to explain what you perceive the metaphor to be saying.

T.E.E.L stands for:

• Technique : The technique used in the example;
• Example : The example;
• Effect : Your explanation of the effect of this technique and how it develops meaning;
• Link : An explanation of how this example supports your argument.

You can find a more detailed explanation of using T.E.E.L in our post on paragraph structure  (this post is part of our series on Essay Writing and shows you the methods Matrix English students learn to write Band 6 essays in the Matrix Holiday and Term courses). Let’s use this T.E.E.L structure to write about this example of a metaphor.

• The technique being used is Verbal Irony .
• The examples  of this are Proctor’s statement that “ There might also be a dragon with five legs in my house, but no one has ever seen it ,” and Parris’s response that “ We are here, Your Honor, precisely to discover what no one has ever seen. “
• The effect  of this is to emphasise the unjust practices of the Salem Witch trials and the corruption that existed in the court by highlighting the absurdity of the judicial process of prosecuting invisible crimes using invisible evidence.
• The link to our argument. For the purpose of this response, we are arguing that Miller is representing the collapse of community and rise of tyranny as a consequence of the community’s greed and petty grievances.

Let’s put this together into a complete piece of analysis about this verbal irony:

Read through that again, just so you can see exactly how it connects the different components of T.E.E.L into a detailed response.

Now we have gone through the step-by-step process of analysing verbal irony, let’s take a look at the other types.

Analysing Situational Irony – A Step-By-Step Guide

For this example of situational irony, let’s consider this example from Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four:

“One did not know what happened inside the Ministry of Love, but it was possible to guess: tortures, drugs, delicate instruments that registered your nervous reactions, gradual wearing-down by sleeplessness and solitude and persistent questioning.”

We need to understand what makes the example irony. For this, we need to consider if the statement matches the context and makes sense.

The “Ministry of Love” sounds like a place that is affectionate, caring and friendly. This does not match the description of the Ministry as a place of “tortures, drugs, delicate instruments that registered your nervous reactions, gradual wearing-down by sleeplessness and solitude and persistent questioning.” This doesn’t sound right, does it?

Clearly, there is an incongruity. So there must be some sort of verbal or situational irony.

The description of the Ministry of Love is ironic. But is it verbal or situational irony? While this isn’t a conversation, it could still be an example of verbal irony from the narrator. In fact, we must use the narrator to figure out what kind of irony this is. In this example, the narrator is using a matter of fact and an unironic tone to describe the Ministry.

This is situational irony. The statement doesn’t match the setting, but the intent is to provide a matter of fact description of the thing being described – The Ministry of Love.

The narrator, in this example, is making a statement about the Ministry of Love. They are stating that what occurs there is antithetical to its name. This says something about the state that rules the people of Airstrip 1 and its citizenry.

Ministries, as government bodies, are meant to protect citizens and look after their wellbeing. The Ministry of Love sounds like this is its purpose, but this description of its actions contrasts starkly with this.

On the one hand, the state is presented as being violent and sadistic because they engage in “tortures, drugs, delicate instruments that registered your nervous reactions, gradual wearing-down by sleeplessness and solitude and persistent questioning.” But on the other hand, the citizenry has become accepting of this. They fear the state but don’t think twice about the incongruity between the Ministry’s name and its behaviour.

Clearly, this disjunction demonstrates that Big Brother’s manipulation of language and people has been successful.

This conveys the themes of language, tyranny, and fear present in Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Now we know the themes present, we need to unpack how the irony in the example conveys these to the audience.

Given what we’ve discussed above, we can state that:

• Oceania is a dystopic state. The matter of fact tone of this ironic utterance shows that the people are resigned to this state of affairs. The citizens expect their government to practice torture and social tyranny.
• There is an incongruity between the name of the Ministry and its purpose. This tells us that the context is a dystopia.
• This demonstrates to the reader that the citizens accept the oppressive state they live in because they have brainwashed so effectively. The Ministry of Love, and its inherent meaning, exemplify the principles of Newspeak and Doublethink.
• This use of irony demonstrates the dangers of autocratic demagogues like Big Brother. The matter-of-fact use of doublespeak demonstrates the successful subversion of the language to entrench fear in a society that is ruled by a fascist government.

Step 5:  Discuss the example using a T.E.E.L Structure

Now we’ve broken these ideas down, we need to use a T.E.E.L structure – as we did in the example above for Verbal Irony – to discuss our understanding of the example. Remember, you can find a more detailed explanation of using T.E.E.L in our post on paragraph structure (this post is part of our series on Essay Writing and shows you the methods Matrix English students learn to write Band 6 essays in the Matrix Holiday and Term courses).

Let’s use this T.E.E.L structure to write about this example of a metaphor.

• The technique being used is Situational Irony.
• The example of this is the description of the secretive ministry: “One did not know what happened inside the Ministry of Love, but it was possible to guess: tortures, drugs, delicate instruments that registered your nervous reactions, gradual wearing-down by sleeplessness and solitude and persistent questioning.”
• The effect of this reinforces Big Brother and IngSoc as a fascist entity that employs repressive state controls through the manipulation of language.
• We will consider this through the lens of Module A: Comparative Study of Texts and Contexts. This means we need to link the text’s concerns to the context of the period.

Orwell was a BBC journalist and radio host who was deeply interested in language. During his time working for the Ministry of Information as a radio host, Orwell had to write and present propaganda. He ultimately resigned because his work went against his principles.

Let’s put this together into a complete piece of analysis about this example of situational irony:

This Module A response is longer than others because we need to include detailed contextual information. You will note that in the example above, we have begun with the linking information in the form of contextual background, and then concluded by connecting this with our overall argument about state control.

Now we have gotten to grips with situational irony, let’s look at the types of structural irony.

Analysing Structural Irony – A Step-By-Step Guide

For this example, we will look at an extract from Albert Camus’  The Stranger.  This is a quintessential modernist text, and so employs an unreliable narrator – Meursault.

To understand the following example, we need to know a little more about the text. In Camus’  The Stranger , the protagonist is a Frenchman living in Algeria. He is not wealthy, but he lives there with his mother, who he put into a nursing home. At the beginning of the text, Meursault’s mother dies and he goes to visit her body at the home. He quite clearly feels guilty about not visiting his mother in a substantial period of time.

Later Meursault shoots and murders an Arab who he did not know. He is tried in court and sentenced to death by guillotine. Much of the latter part of the novel is his account of the trial and his meditation on life while waiting his execution. The text is a 1st person narrative, and it is hard, at times, to distinguish between Meursault’s perception of events and the reality of things.

At one point in early the text, during chapter 1, Meursault states:

“When [the women] had sat down, most of them looked at me nodded awkwardly, their lips sucked in by their toothless mouths, so that I couldn’t tell if they were greeting me or if it was just a nervous tick. It was then that I realised they were all sitting opposite me, nodding their heads, grouped around the caretaker. For a second, I had the ridiculous feeling that they were there to judge me.”

Then later, in chapter 2, while on a date with Marie he recounts that:

“I told her Maman had dies. She wanted to know how long ago, so I said, “Yesterday.” She gave a little start but didn’t say anything. I felt like telling her it’s not my fault, but I stopped myself because I remembered that I’d already said that to my boss. It didn’t mean anything. Besides, you always feel a little guilty.”

Let’s see what’s happening in the extracts and what they tell us about Meursault and the text.

Step 1: Ask yourself if the structure of the text is antithetical to what is happening inside the text

The Stranger  is told from the perspective of Meursault. We only have his account of events to orientate ourselves in the text. Usually when we read a text, we read it with the expectation that we will be given an accurate account of things by the narrator. Traditionally, narrators are accurate and do not lie. But people are imperfect and distinctly unlike narrators. Camus reflects this in his character Meursault who is paranoid and self-absorbed. Like other people he is unsure of how others perceive him and he frequently misjudges things.

It is established very early on that Meursault feels guilty about being absent from his mother and tries to reassure himself constantly. He grasps onto others excuses for his poor behaviour as a son. At the same time he projects his emotions onto them. In the examples above, Meursault acts as if he is to blame for his mother’s death. His paranoia and insecurity emerge in his fear that he is being judged by his mother’s friends, and, similarly,  his desire to absolve him from guilt when Marie “gave a little start.” He is relating an experience that is different to the one that is actually happening.

In these scenes, the others are judging him for his behaviour as a son, not on the possibility that he is responsible for her death. The friends are most likely judging him for not visiting his mother, Marie, because he is out on a date the day after her death. Clearly his perception of things does not correlate to what is occurring in the text. This is an example of structural irony.

Step 2: Ask yourself if this irony relies on the audience knowing something that the character does not

While dramatic irony mostly occurs in plays, it has become more common in contemporary poetry and prose. The example above doesn’t make one thing clear to the audience that is not clear to the character. In fact, the opposite occurs. The audience becomes uncertain of the accuracy of the narrator’s account of events. Clearly they are either naive, deceptive, or otherwise unreliable. Thus, this is an example of structural irony and NOT dramatic irony.

Step 3: See what the use of irony does to characterise the events or characters in the text

Camus was a philosopher and author concerned with representing existential concerns. Camus wrote extensively about the idea of the Absurd. To him, the Absurd was the fact that we constantly try and find meaning in life while often failing to find any. Absurdists felt that discovering such inherent value was essentially impossible.

Make of that what you will.

Meursault’s particular absurd futility lies in his ultimate situation, he is sentenced to death for killing a man he didn’t know for reasons he cannot fathom. This text uses the ambiguity and unreliability of Meursault’s perspective on the world to characterise the inherent difficulty of locating meaning in life. This text would not be as effective or understandable if it were not for the use of structural irony.

We can ascertain the following meaning from the text’s use of structural irony:

• Meursault is an unreliable narrator.
• The audience has difficulty differentiating between what Meursault perceives to be the state of things, and what is actually occurring.
• Meursault’s unreliable perspective is representative of the difficulty individuals face in trying to ascertain meaning in life.
• This incongruence is representative of the difficulty of deriving meaning from existence.

Now that we know what we need to talk about, let’s put together a response discussing these examples.

Step 5: Use a T.E.E.L structure to compose your response about structural irony

It is not enough to present an example of irony, you need to explain how it develops meaning and connects to your text. For the purpose of this response, we will consider how Camus reflects a modernist concern. Let’s look at how to use a  T.E.E.L structure to explain what we perceive the structural irony to be conveying.

• The technique being used is structural irony.
• “It was then that I realised they were all sitting opposite me, nodding their heads, grouped around the caretaker. For a second, I had the ridiculous feeling that they were there to judge me.”
• “I felt like telling her it’s not my fault, but I stopped myself because I remembered that I’d already said that to my boss.”
• “Besides, you always feel a little guilty.”
• The effect  of the effect of these examples is to demonstrate the difficulty in finding meaning in existence.
• The link to our argument is how this reflects Modernist and Absurdist concerns .

Let’s put this together into a complete piece of analysis about this metaphor:

Take a minute and read that a few times to understand how it works together.

Now we have gone through the step-by-step process of analysing a metaphor, let’s take a look at dramatic irony to completely understand how it differs, and how to write about it effectively.

Analysing Dramatic Irony – A Step-By-Step Guide

To understand how to analyse dramatic irony, let’s have a look at the first of Richard’s soliloquy’s from Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Richard III . This soliloquy is the opening speech of the text. The Duke of Gloucester, who will become Richard III on his coronation, delivers this speech alone on stage.

Gloucester (Richard III):

But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks, Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass; I, that am rudely stamp’d, and want love’s majesty To strut before a wanton ambling nymph; I, that am curtail’d of this fair proportion, Cheated of feature by dissembling nature, Deformed, unfinish’d, sent before my time Into this breathing world, scarce half made up, And that so lamely and unfashionable That dogs bark at me as I halt by them; Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace, Have no delight to pass away the time, Unless to spy my shadow in the sun And descant on mine own deformity: And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover, To entertain these fair well-spoken days, I am determined to prove a villain And hate the idle pleasures of these days. Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous, By drunken prophecies, libels and dreams, To set my brother Clarence and the king In deadly hate the one against the other

(Act 1, Scene 1, lines 14-37)

In these lines, Gloucester sets the scene for the rest of the play’s action. He begins the soliloquy by discussing the recent events in England through the extended metaphor of the seasons becoming summer. He then compares himself, a deformed and unattractive man, to the attractive courtiers trying to woo Lady Anne. He concludes by outlining he has determined to set his brother and father against one another in his pursuit of the throne.

Let’s have a look at why this is dramatic irony and how to analyse it with a step-by-step process.

This text begins with its main character addressing the audience, indirectly, through a soliloquy. While this is not unusual, what he discusses is. Gloucester admits to the audience that he is misshapen and ugly. Rather than lament this, he embraces it and declares that “since I cannot prove a lover, / To entertain these fair well-spoken days, / I am determined to prove a villain.”

Here the central protagonist is admitting  to the audience, immediately, that he wants to be the bad guy. This is unusual for a tragedy of this period. It also provides the audience detailed information that other characters in the text will not know.

Step 2: See if the incongruity between action and structure is occurring in a drama or film, or a text like a poem or narrative

This example is occurring in a play. And it is furnishing the audience with information that the other characters in the text will not know. This is an example of dramatic irony .

This soliloquy characterises Gloucester as evil. Gloucester is determined to spoil the serenity and peace England has after its previous conflict because he is jealous of the opportunities that others, like his brother Clarence, possess. This suggests that the final acts of violence were the fault alone of Richard III and not other political forces.

Step 4: Unpack how meaning is being represented by the usage of dramatic irony

This use of dramatic irony is particularly interesting because it characterises Gloucester as evil, but also develops an interesting relationship with the audience. Consider:

• Gloucester defines himself as one “determined to prove a villain” who will “hate the idle pleasure of these days.”
• Gloucester embraces his deformity to be a devilish character.
• Gloucester makes the audience complicit in his malevolent plans.
• Shakespeare develops the themes of good and evil and fate and free will by characterising Richard in this way

Step 5: Set down your insights using a T.E.E.L structure

As you know, you need to explain what you see in an example and its technique to support your argument. Module A studies this text in combination with Al Pacino’s documentary Looking for Richard . For the purpose of this response, we will consider Pacino’s typecasting as a villain or anti-hero in contrast to Gloucester. Let’s look at how to write about this example of dramatic irony in Richard III using  a T.E.E.L structure:

• The technique being used is dramatic irony.
• The example of this is the opening soliloquy by Gloucester, especially the desire to “prove a villain.”
• The effect  of this is to characterise Richard III’s behaviour as inherently evil, and to depict him as a figure who chose to be evil. It also develops tension in the text by making the audience complicit in his devilish acts.
• The link to our argument is that Gloucester chooses to be a villain and Pacino sees an affinity in this because he is often typecast as a villain or anti-hero.

Now let’s connect these parts in a full response about dramatic irony:

Can you see how we’ve developed our argument about the text, with evidence from it, and then connected this to the wider concerns of the module?

You need to start applying this to your analysis, now!

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• Literary Terms

When and How to Use Irony

• Definition & Examples
• When & How to Use Irony

How to Use Irony

Irony can be tough to write because first you have to notice something ironic to write about a situation, which is a kind of insight . That’s also why it’s a fairly impressive writing technique. So the trick is not to practice writing irony but to practice noticing it. Look around you every day, and you will see plenty of ways in which ordinary expectations are contradicted by what happens in the real, unpredictable world.

As you look around for irony, take care to avoid the pitfall of confusing irony with coincidence . Often coincidences are ironic, and often they are not. Think of it this way: a coincidence would be if firemen, on the way home from putting out a fire, suddenly got called back out to fight another one. Irony would be if their fire truck caught on fire. The latter violates our expectations about fire trucks, whereas the former is just an unfortunate (but not necessarily unexpected) turn of events.

Another way of putting it is this: coincidence is a relationship between  facts (e.g. Fire 1 and Fire 2), whereas irony is a relationship between a fact and an expectation and how they contradict each other.

When to use irony

Irony belongs more in  creative writing than in formal essays . It’s a great way of getting a reader engaged in a story, since it sets up expectations and then provokes an emotional response. It also makes a story feel more lifelike, since having our expectations violated is a universal experience. And, of course, humor is always valuable in creative writing.

Verbal irony is also useful in creative writing, especially in crafting characters or showing us their mind and feelings. Take this passage as an example:

Eleanor turned on her flashlight and stepped carefully into the basement. She kept repeating to herself that she was not afraid. She was not afraid. She was not afraid.

Even though the author keeps repeating “she was not afraid,” we all know that Eleanor was afraid. But we also know that she was trying to convince herself otherwise, and this verbal irony gives us additional psychological insight into the character. Rather than just saying “Eleanor was afraid of the basement,” the author is giving us information about how Eleanor deals with fear, and the emotions she is feeling as she enters the basement.

In formal essays , you should almost never  use irony, but you might very well point it out . Irony is striking in any context, and a good technique for getting the reader’s attention. For example, a paper about the history of gunpowder could capture readers’ interest by pointing out that this substance, which has caused so much death over the years, was discovered by Chinese alchemists seeking an elixir of immortality.

It goes without saying that you shouldn’t express your own thoughts by using verbal irony in a formal essay – a formal essay should always present exactly what you mean without tricks or disguises.

List of Terms

• Alliteration
• Amplification
• Anachronism
• Anthropomorphism
• Antonomasia
• APA Citation
• Aposiopesis
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• Bildungsroman
• Characterization
• Circumlocution
• Cliffhanger
• Comic Relief
• Connotation
• Deus ex machina
• Deuteragonist
• Doppelganger
• Double Entendre
• Dramatic irony
• Equivocation
• Extended Metaphor
• Figures of Speech
• Flash-forward
• Foreshadowing
• Intertextuality
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• Malapropism
• Onomatopoeia
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• Red Herring
• Rhetorical Device
• Rhetorical Question
• Science Fiction
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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Macbeth — Irony in Act 1 of Macbeth

Irony in Act 1 of Macbeth

• Categories: Macbeth

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Published: Jun 14, 2024

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The witches' prophecies, the king's trust, macbeth's ambition, bibliography.

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by William Shakespeare

Macbeth irony, duncan's arrival.

In Act One, when King Duncan arrives at Macbeth's castle, he says, "This castle hath a pleasant seat" (1.6). This statement is an example of verbal irony because, though Duncan feels welcome and comfortable in the castle, the audience knows it will soon be the setting for his murder.

Macbeth's News

After murdering Duncan, Macbeth informs Malcom and Donalbain of their father's death, saying, "The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood / Is stopped; the very source of it is stopped" (2.3). Here, Macbeth appears aggrieved and shocked by Duncan's death, but in actuality is the very murderer who took the king's life.

Lady Macbeth

Lady's Macbeth's incessant washing of her hands represents a moment of dramatic irony in the play. While the other characters in the scene assume she has simply gone mad, the audience knows that her behavior stems from her own sense of guilt over having taken part in Duncan's murder.

The witches prophecy that Macbeth will become king and will not be overthrown by any man "of woman born" (4.1). Their prophecy leaves little doubt over Macbeth's continued rule, but the audience knows that Macbeth is a tragedy and that the lead character will soon fall. The witches' prophecy therefore represents a moment of situational irony, as the audience knows that their prediction will in some way be challenged, despite not knowing how (eventually, the audience will learn that Macduff was born by Caesarian section, and therefore not "of woman").

Macbeth Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Macbeth is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Of what importance are the bleeding Sergeant and Ross? Why does Shakespeare introduce two messengers?

There are two pieces of information here, hence the two messengers. The bleeding sergeant is meant to inform Duncan, and the audience, of Macbeth's valor in battle. Ross is meant to inform about the Thane of Cawdor being a traitor. Both pieces of...

The third which says that Banquo's sons shall be kings, Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none. So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!

Macbeth Act 1 Scene 3 questions

What is significant about the first words that Macbeth speaks in the play?

A motif or recurring idea in the play is equivocation. There is the balance of the dark and the light, the good and the bad. Macbeth's first line reflects this. It...

Study Guide for Macbeth

Macbeth study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Macbeth
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Essays for Macbeth

Macbeth essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

• Serpentine Imagery in Shakespeare's Macbeth
• Macbeth's Evolution
• Jumping the Life to Come
• Deceptive Appearances in Macbeth
• Unity in Shakespeare's Tragedies

Lesson Plan for Macbeth

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Macbeth
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Macbeth Bibliography

E-Text of Macbeth

Macbeth e-text contains the full text of Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

• Persons Represented
• Act I, Scene I
• Act I, Scene II
• Act I, Scene III
• Act I, Scene IV

Wikipedia Entries for Macbeth

• Introduction

Home / Essay Samples / Literature / 1984 / Analysis Of Irony In George Orwell’s 1984

Analysis Of Irony In George Orwell’s 1984

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• Topic: 1984 , George Orwell , Irony

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