Definition:
The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning; a statement or situation where the meaning is contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea. Three kinds of irony are commonly recognized:
- Verbal irony is a trope in which the intended meaning of a statement differs from the meaning that the words appear to express.
- Irony of situation involves an incongruity between what is expected or intended and what actually occurs.
- Dramatic irony is an effect produced by a narrative in which the audience knows more about present or future circumstances than a character in the story.
Etymology:
From Greek, "feigned ignorance"Examples & Observations:
- "It is a fitting irony that under Richard Nixon, launder became a dirty word."
(William Zinsser) - "I'm aware of the irony of appearing on TV in order to decry it, so don't bother pointing that out."
(Sideshow Bob, The Simpsons) - "Irony has always been a primary tool the under-powered use to tear at the over-powered in our culture. But now irony has become the bait that media corporations use to appeal to educated consumers. . . . It's almost an ultimate irony that those who say they don't like TV will sit and watch TV as long as the hosts of their favorite shows act like they don't like TV, either. Somewhere in this swirl of droll poses and pseudo-insights, irony itself becomes a kind of mass therapy for a politically confused culture. It offers a comfortable space where complicity doesn't feel like complicity. It makes you feel like you are counter-cultural while never requiring you to leave the mainstream culture it has so much fun teasing. We are happy enough with this therapy that we feel no need to enact social change."
(Dan French, review of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, 2001)
Pronunciation: I-ruh-nee
Also Known As: eironeia, illusio, dry mock
