What is the meaning of verbal irony?
Verbal irony is an expression (often delivered sarcastically or humorously) to express the opposite of its literal meaning. (It is a synonym for sarcasm.) Verbal irony is the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect. (Oxford Dictionary) Dramatic Irony.
What is irony in literature?
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.
What is the difference between irony and sarcasm?
Irony is often mistaken for sarcasm. Sarcasm is actually a form of verbal irony, but sarcasm is intentionally insulting. When you say, “Oh, great” after your drink has spilled all over your expensive new clothes, you don’t actually mean that the incident is positive.
What is the difference between dramatic irony and situational irony?
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.
What is the meaning of dramatic irony?
Dramatic irony is a literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy, by which the full significance of a character’s words or actions is clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character. (Oxford Dictionary) Situational Irony. Situational irony is an event that occurs seemingly in mockery of the circumstances.
What is irony in English language?
English Language Learners Definition of irony. : the use of words that mean the opposite of what you really think especially in order to be funny. : a situation that is strange or funny because things happen in a way that seems to be the opposite of what you expected.
How effective is irony as a literary device?
The effectiveness of irony as a literary device depends on the reader’s expectations and understanding of the disparity between what “should” happen and what “actually” happens in a literary work. This can be in the form of an unforeseen outcome of an event, a character ’s unanticipated behavior, or something incongruous that is said.
What is the meaning of irony of situation?
This is an irony of situation, or an irony of existence; it is as though human life and its understanding of the world is undercut by some other meaning or design beyond our powers. . . . The word irony refers to the limits of human meaning; we do not see the effects of what we do, the outcomes of our actions, or the forces that exceed our choices.
What is the classic form of irony?
(3) Linguistic irony, a duality of meaning, now the classic form of irony. Building on the idea of dramatic irony, the Romans concluded that language often carries a double message, a second often mocking or sardonic meaning running contrary to the first. . . .
What are the different types of irony?
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.
What is the origin 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 .