Is it or is it not Ironic?

Before beginning this blog, I asked two SWC Student Assistants how they’d define irony. Both said that they could give me examples of irony but not a solid definition off the top of their heads. One said irony would be when a stressed out person lit an aroma therapy candle to reduce stress and wound up burning down the house. The other said it’s ironic that they can come up with examples of irony but not definitions.  They are both right. 

 

The most common form of irony occurs daily when we talk to each other. Verbal irony happens when what we say means something else entirely. Generally, those with whom we talk get it, know that we are saying one thing and meaning another. When the wind is very calm and the waves are uselessly flat for surfing, I know my friend is being ironic if he says, “Killer waves today for sure!” Generally, verbal irony has an element of humor, a way of making subtle fun of a situation or another person. Sarcasm and satire nearly always depend upon ironic humor.

 

In literature, dramatic irony occurs when the reader knows more than the characters do and perceives that what is happening is far different from what the characters think is happening. One example that most of us recall is when Romeo and Juliet both die at the end of the play when they might have lived happily ever after if they had only known what the audience knows.

 

Tragic irony is almost the same as dramatic irony except that the term applies specifically to tragedies.

 

When the discrepancy between what the audience knows and what the characters know is sustained throughout the entire work, the term structural irony is used because the piece is structured – built – upon irony.

 

Romeo and Juliet, often considered  star-crossed lovers, fall victim to  cosmic irony, the term used for a twist of fate, a turn of events unanticipated and usually (or unusually) cruel, a destiny  governed by forces outside the characters’ control.

 

The terms dramatic irony, tragic irony, structural irony and cosmic irony are mostly reserved for literature, but verbal irony comes into play often in our everyday lives.  It is likely that you will come across at least one instance of verbal irony today, and you’ll most likely see the humor involved in a disconnect between what is said and what is actually meant.

 

When asked to describe irony in a story or other literary work, focus on dissimilarities between dialogue or events and their real meaning, especially when you know that if the characters had a clue, there might be more happy endings.

 

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang ten!