What is the literary definition of irony?
The definition of irony as a literary device is a situation in which there is a contrast between expectation and reality. For example, the difference between what something appears to mean versus its literal meaning. Irony is associated with both tragedy and humor.
What is an example of irony?
For example, two friends coming to a party in the same dress is a coincidence. But two friends coming to the party in the same dress after promising not to wear that dress would be situational irony — you’d expect them to come in other clothes, but they did the opposite. It’s the last thing you expect.
What is the best definition of dramatic irony?
Dramatic irony is a form of irony that is expressed through a work’s structure: an audience’s awareness of the situation in which a work’s characters exist differs substantially from that of the characters’, and the words and actions of the characters therefore take on a different—often contradictory—meaning for the …
What is an example of a dramatic irony?
If you’re watching a movie about the Titanic and a character leaning on the balcony right before the ship hits the iceberg says, “It’s so beautiful I could just die,” that’s an example of dramatic irony. Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something that the characters don’t.
Why is it called irony?
The term irony has its roots in the Greek comic character Eiron, a clever underdog who by his wit repeatedly triumphs over the boastful character Alazon. The Socratic irony of the Platonic dialogues derives from this comic origin.
What are two examples of a dramatic irony?
Dramatic Irony Examples
- Girl in a horror film hides in a closet where the killer just went (the audience knows the killer is there, but she does not).
- In Romeo and Juliet, the audience knows that Juliet is only asleep-not dead-but Romeo does not, and he kills himself.
What is an example of dramatic irony in literature?
Why do people find it hard to define irony?
It’s a literary device that highlights the incongruity (a fancy word for ‘difference’) between one’s expectation for a situation, and the reality. Part of the reason people find it hard to give a definition of irony is because of Alanis Morissette’s 1995 hit song ‘ Ironic ‘.
What is the difference between irony and situational irony?
In simple words, it is a difference between appearance and reality. On the grounds of the above definition, we distinguish two basic types of irony: (1) verbal irony, and (2) situational irony. Verbal irony involves what one does not mean. For example, when in response to a foolish idea, we say, “What a great idea!” This is verbal irony.
What is the meaning of irony in theater?
dramatic irony – (theater) irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play. figure of speech, trope, image, figure – language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense.
Where does the word Ironie come from in English?
[French ironie, from Old French, from Latin īrōnīa, from Greek eirōneia, feigned ignorance, from eirōn, dissembler, perhaps from eirein, to say; see wer- in Indo-European roots, or from eirein, to fasten together in rows, string together; see ser- in Indo-European roots .] American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
