Irony - Academic Mode

Definition of irony
Irony is a phrase in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. It can also be a situation that ends very differently from what is commonly believed. In simple terms, there is a difference between appearance and reality. That is, for example, when we respond to a stupid idea, we say, "What a great idea ! " This is verbal irony. Situational irony occurs when, for example, a man laughs at someone else's misfortune even if the same misfortune hits him without his knowledge.

Difference Between Dramatic Irony and Situational Irony
Dramatic irony is widely used by writers in their work. In situational irony, both the characters and the audience are unaware of the implications of the real situation. In dramatic irony, the characters are unaware of the situation, but the audience is not. For example, in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, we know well before the characters that they are going to die. In real circumstances, irony can be weird, bitter or sometimes excruciatingly obnoxious.

Common Examples of Irony
Let's analyze some interesting examples from our daily lives:

I posted a video on YouTube about how boring and useless YouTube is.
The name of Britain's largest dog was "Tiny" the person who slipped while stepping on a banana peel, and the next thing you know you slipped too.
The butter is as soft as a marble slab.
"Oh, great! Now you've broken my new camera. ”
Short Examples of Verbal Irony
The doctor is as good-hearted as a wolf.
He took a much-needed vacation, backpacking in the mountains. Unfortunately, he returned exhausted.
His friend's hand was as smooth as stone.
The desert was as cool as a bed of burning coals.
The student received 'excellent'.
The roast chicken was as tender as a leather boot
he was in such a weary state he was driving all the way at 20 miles per hour
he enjoyed his work as much as a root canal. the children of his friends get along like cats and dogs.
his new boss was as civilized as a shark.
The new manager is as friendly as a rattlesnake. The fear of long words is called "Hippopotomonstrosesquippedalio phobia".
Examples of iron in literature
Example # 1: Romeo and Juliet (By William Shakespeare)
We find the following lines in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Act I, Scene V:

: if he is married
My grave is like my wedding bed. ”

Juliet orders her nurse to find out who Romeo was, and says that if he were married, then his wedding bed would be her grave. It is a verbal irony because

Example # 2: Julius Caesar (By William Shakespeare)
Shakespeare employs this verbal irony in Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene II:

CASIUS: "It is true that this god shook.

Cassius calls him, although he knows the deadly mistakes of Caesar, "this god" .

Example 3: Oedipus Rex (by Sophocles)
In the Greek drama Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles:

"I invoke this curse on the murderer - whether He is a man and all unknown,
Or one of many - may he wear down his life in misery to wretched demise! ”

The above lines are an example of verbal and dramatic irony. It has been predicted that a man is guilty of his Having killed father and marrying his own mother brought a curse to the city and its people. In the lines above Oedipus curses the man who is the cause of the curse. He does not know that he himself is this man, and so it is too The audience, on the other hand, knows the situation.

Example 4: The hoarfrost of the old seafarer (By Samuel Coleridge)
Irony examples are not only found in plays, but a also in poems. In his poem The Rime Coleridge wrote:

“Water, Water, Everywhere,
And all the boards shrank,
Water, water, everywhere,
Not a drop to drink. “

In the above lines, the ship blown by the south wind is stranded in the unknown sea. Ironically, there is water everywhere, but they do not have a single drop of drinking water.

Example 5: The Gift of the Kings (by W.Auden)
This is an example of situational irony in which the woman sells her most precious property - her hair - to give her husband a Christmas present. and the husband sells his favorite property - the gold watch - to give his wife a Christmas present. In the end, it turns out that neither gets the benefit of the gift the other bought, as both sell their best things to give the other a gift. Combs, the gift for the woman, are useless because she sold her hair. The gold watch chain, the present for the husband, is useless because he sold the watch to get the combs. The situation becomes ironic for such an incident.

Example 6: Othello (by William Shakespeare)
There are many examples of verbal irony in which the speaker means the opposite of what he is saying in Othello by Shakespeare, as stated below:

OTHELLO: “O you art wise! "It is safe" (IV.87), "Honest Iago." (V. II.88), (II.III.179) & (I.III.319), "I know, Iago, your honesty and love crush this matter" (II.III.251-52) .

These few lines tell us how Othello uses irony to talk about Iago.

IAGO: “Sir, you know I love you. ”(III.III.136)

This shows that Iago is only using this term superficially, with exactly the opposite meaning.

Example No. 7: The Treasonous Heart (by Edgar Allan Poe)
In the short story The Treasonous Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, es gives many examples of irony as given below:

The killer states that he is a wise and intelligent person who takes every step very carefully to kill the victim The victim is very ironic. He behaves absolutely insane throughout the story.
Another example of irony in the same story is that the killer himself confesses his crime without being asked by the police. The police are only there to investigate the scream reported by a neighbor. However, her late stay makes the killer very nervous and he confesses his murder crime in her presence. He even tells where he buried the body.
Function of irony
Like all other idioms, irony brings additional meaning to a situation. Ironic statements and situations in literature develop the reader's interest. It makes a literary work more fascinating and forces readers to use their imagination to understand the basic meanings of the texts. In addition, real life is full of ironic expressions and situations. Hence the use of irony brings a literary work into being.