Irony

Irony

Irony is a very complex word that many people tend not to comprehend the definition of.

Irony is an incongruity between what may ne expected and what actually occurs. Many writers

include irony in their work but only some seem to make the reader understand the irony. Irony is

when a context is thought to mean something but in reality it's significance is completely the

opposite There are many types of ironies in literature.

Verbal irony is the simplest form of irony. Verbal irony is a statement said but the

speaker means and intends the complete opposite of what was actually said. A quick example is

when someone is at a restaurant and the service is really bad and when someone else ask them

how the service is you say" it is great" when in reality you mean the complete opposite. Verbal

irony is simply the use of reversed meaning of a statement said.

Dramatic irony is the type of irony when the audience or reader is aware of a certain

character's situation when the character does not know. The audience sees the outcome of a

situation involving the opposite of the characters expectations. It involves more that just words,

thoughts or actions. For example in Othello, Othello who believes Iago and what he states of

Othellos wife. When he tells Othello that his wife has been cheating on him Othello kills her

because he believes Iago because he is " honest Iago". That indeed is dramatic irony because

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Othello kills his wife thinking that Iago is really telling him the truth when at the end of the story

it is revealed that Iago was lying the whole time.