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Irony

Irony is a literary device in which the underlying meaning of a statement or a situation is in contrast with what is apparent. The word irony comes from Greek eirOnia in which eirOn means dissembler.

Types of Irony

Verbal irony

In verbal irony, a speaker says something that differs from what he actually means. Generally, it happens due to the ignorance of the speaker of a larger context of which he is not conscious.

Verbal irony in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthrone

Chapter – The Recognition

Dimmesdale to Hester
“…Hester, though he were to step down from a high place,
and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were
it so than to hide a guilty heart through life. What can thy silence do
for him, except it tempt him yea, compel him, as it were to add
hypocrisy to sin . . . Take heed how thou deniest
to him who, perchance, hath not the courage to grasp it for
himself the bitter, but wholesome cup that is now presented
to thy lips!”

Later in the book we see that it is Dimmesdale predicting his future in these lines. He did ‘add hypocrisy to sin’ by staying quiet about his affair with Hester, and that he ‘hath not the courage to grasp it for himself, the bitter but wholesome cup’ due to which he suffered in silence and endured guilt and loneliness.

Dramatic or tragic irony

Dramatic irony is used especially in plays. When a character, in ignorance, says something which has a different meaning from what he intends to express, then it is an instance of dramatic irony. Later, the character comes to know about the true nature of his actions, which leads to tragedy.

Dramatic irony was mostly used in ancient Greek plays where the spectators were fully aware of the plot, intentions and situation whereas the character/characters weren’t. In such a setting, characters said things without knowing what their larger significance was.

Examples

In Othello by Shakespeare, Othello is suspicious of his wife, Desdemona, when there is no cause for suspicion. The characters are oblivious of the whole truth, but the readers can see the advance of tragedy.

In Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Kind Oedipus unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother, which later lead to the tragedy.

In Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, Romeo kills himself after he believes that Juliet is dead.

Structural irony

When an ironic voice is continued through a work by the means of a narrator or a character whose viewpoint is unreliable or wrong, then it’s called structural irony.

Jonathan Swift’s satirical essay The Modest Proposal uses structural irony.

Candide, a French satire by Voltaire, has a character named Candide, who has blind optimism, but later becomes disillusioned.

Socratic Irony

This is just being clever, and there is little irony in it. When a person or a character feigns ignorance to extract a secret or expose a person, then you can say he is using Socratic irony. Through the use of Socratic irony, you can very cleverly have a person reveal things that he intends to hide.

Louis Theroux in television series When Louis Met… is a perfect example of Socratic irony.

Cosmic Irony

If you believe that God or a Supreme Being is manipulating events or humans for fun or some other motive, then you might be knocking on Cosmic Irony. In short, you hope and God dashes them.

A short story titled The Open Boat by Stephen Crane deals with cosmic irony.

Roman irony

When someone purposely uses words which have double meaning to consciously stir a particular response in a listener or a reader, then you can say that he is using roman irony. The difference between Socratic irony and Roman irony is that the speaker doesn’t expect the listeners to participate in the dialogue directly.

That is basically for politicians or such as Antony of Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, who need to juggle a lot of balls. What explanation won’t do, example will.

Julius Caeser by William Shakespeare

Antony –
“…The noble Brutus
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answer’d it.
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest
For Brutus is an honourable man;
So are they all, all honourable men
Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
He hath brought many captives home to Rome
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And, sure, he is an honourable man.
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him
O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason. Bear with me
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause till it come back to me.

Situational irony

When the expected outcome of a situation is in contrast with what actually results from it, then that’s called situational irony.

In fiction, the reader might know beforehand that the situation will unfold not as the characters think it will, but in some unexpected way. This technique will make the reader feel for the character who is expecting something very different from what he will actually have to deal with. Also, you can hide the outcome from the reader till it actually happens so that the reader will be surprised by the unexpected outcome, and so will the character.

The short story titled The Gift of the Magi by O Henry uses situational irony. In it, Jim and Della decide to buy a gift for each other for Christmas. Due to lack of money, Jim sells his watch to buy a set of combs for Della while Della gets her long hair cut and sold to buy a new chain for Jim’s watch.

Romantic or philosophical irony

In romantic irony, the human ability to create art consciously rather than naturally, like plants create fruits etc., is seen in contrast with the outcome of such art. The outcome of art is seen as a fall because then it takes on a definite form whereas the creative process can be seen, criticized, changed, progressed by the human mind. There are endless possibilities in the creative process, but when it becomes a poem or any other art form it loses all of that and becomes inert, giving just what the author intended it to.

Comic irony

When there is a serious underlying meaning, a contrast or a generalization under a witty, humorous or light statement, then you call it comic irony.

The first sentence of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is a perfect example of comic irony.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

However, we soon find out that what is actually true is that women are always in search of a single man with a good fortune, and not otherwise.

Comic irony in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

“Here! Give me your fork, Mum, and take the baby,” said Flopson. “Don’t take it that way, or you’ll get its head under the table.”

Thus advised, Mrs. Pocket took it the other way, and got its head upon the table; which was announced to all present by a prodigious concussion.

“Dear, dear! Give it back, Mum,” said Flopson; “and Miss Jane, come and dance to baby, do!”

Irony-filled Ironic by Alanis Morissette

An old man turned ninety-eight
He won the lottery and died the next day
It’s a black fly in your Chardonnay
It’s a death row pardon two minutes too late
And isn’t it ironic…dontcha think

It’s like rain on your wedding day
It’s a free ride when you’ve already paid
It’s the good advice that you just didn’t take
Who would’ve thought…it figures

Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye
He waited his whole damn life to take that flight
And as the plane crashed down he thought
“Well isn’t this nice…”
And isn’t it ironic…dontcha think

A traffic jam when you’re already late
A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break
It’s like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
It’s meeting the man of my dreams
And then meeting his beautiful wife
And isn’t it ironic…dontcha think
A little too ironic…and yeah I really do think…

I have cut the song short so that only irony is included. I hope you don’t mind.

Also see:
Trope
Antithesis
Soliloquy
Oxymoron
Allusion