Farnaz Michelle Inanlou
Craft Talk
Irony (Situational Irony)
Irony, in its broadest sense, is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or event, in which what appears, on the surface, to be the case, differs radically from what is actually the case.
This discrepancy between expectation and reality occurs in three forms: situational irony, where a situation features a discrepancy between what is expected and what is actualized; dramatic irony, where a character is unaware of pivotal information already revealed to the audience (the discrepancy here lies in the two levels of awareness between the character and the audience); and verbal irony, where one states one thing while meaning another. The difference between verbal irony and sarcasm is
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This is also called an irony of events. The outcome can be serious or humorous. The function of situational irony is to lay emphasis on important scenes and make strange and unusual images vivid. It creates an unexpected turn at the end of a story and makes audience laugh or cry. Therefore, situational irony could be tragic or funny. Usually writers employ strong word connections with situational irony and add fresh thoughts, variations and embellishments to their works. It may range from the most comic to the most tragic situations. Its comical use usually creates unexpected turnaround in a plot for the betterment. Sometimes, these forms of ironies occur, because people identify certain events and situations as unfair or odd. Common examples of situational irony are, a fire station burns down, the marriage counselor files for divorce, the police station gets robbed, a fertility counselor has difficulty getting pregnant, posting on Facebook complaining how useless Facebook is.
Examples of Situational Irony from Literature:
Example one:
A very famous example of this form of irony occurs towards the end of a short story “The story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin. In this story, the wife of Mr. Brently comes to know that he is no more alive and has died from an accident, so she feels contended to live a long life with freedom, with no restrictions. However, at the end of the tale, her husband comes back unexpectedly
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Dorothy moves to the wizard in order to find a way to go her home just to learn that she was capable of doing so persistently. Scarecrow wished to become intelligent, but he discovers himself a perfect genius. Woodsman considers himself as not capable of love; nevertheless he learns that he has a good heart. Lion appears as a coward and then turns out to be extremely fearless and courageous.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum)
Example three:
Romeo strives to bring out peace between Tybalt and Mercutio, and eventually between the Capulets and the Montagues. However, Mercutio’s death and subsequently Romeo’s pledge to kill Tybalt escalates a situation leading to his banishment and finally to the death of both Romeo and Juliet. Romeo finds Juliet drugged and assumes she is dead. He kills himself then she awakens and sees that he is dead and kills herself.
(Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare)
Example