When do we use irony

And, of course, humor is always valuable in creative writing. Verbal irony is also useful in creative writing, especially in crafting characters or showing us their mind and feelings. Take this passage as an example:. Eleanor turned on her flashlight and stepped carefully into the basement.

She kept repeating to herself that she was not afraid. She was not afraid. But we also know that she was trying to convince herself otherwise, and this verbal irony gives us additional psychological insight into the character.

In formal essays , you should almost never use irony, but you might very well point it out. List of Terms Action. Ad Hominem. In other cases, however, a situation may lack an essential element that irony seems to require. Warnings abound in dictionaries and style guides. One reason that irony is so confusing is that the word also refers to a certain perspective or style: one that is detached, aloof and seemingly world-weary.

In fact, the ironic attitude has been declared dead with almost every change in recent American politics. Of course, irony is not the only problematic word in English.

As an adult, Oedipus seeks out the Oracle at Delphi, who deals a prophecy: he will mate with his mother and kill his father. In an attempt to circumvent this prophecy, Oedipus leaves home, thereby setting himself on the road to killing a man who he later discovers is his father and marrying the Queen of Thebes actually his mother.

By defying the will of the gods, he has dealt himself a fate dripping with irony. Verbal irony is where the intended meaning of a statement is the opposite of what is said. Sarcasm is a form of verbal irony, but it's almost always used to denigrate someone or something.

There are common phrases that perfectly exemplify verbal irony — many of them similes comparing two entirely unlike things. Broadly speaking, verbal irony works by either understating or overstating the gravity of the situation. As you might expect, an ironic understatement creates contrast by undermining the impact of something, though the thing itself will be rather substantial or severe.

It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain. On the other hand, ironic overstatement makes something minor sound like a much bigger deal to emphasize how minor it is. A friend asks you if you won anything, and you say, "Yeah, total jackpot" — that's an ironic overstatement. Note: this is not to be confused with hyperbole, in which the overstatement isn't ironic, but stems from wanting to convey just how massive something is — even if it isn't that big.

Now that we know the two faces of verbal irony, that leaves the question: what effect does it have on a piece of writing? Verbal irony is often used for satirical purposes, exaggerating or underplaying their descriptions to reveal a deeper truth. Viewed through a lens of overstatement or understatement, the reader can see how flawed the original concept might be. Example: Verbal irony can be found in the very first lines of Romeo and Juliet a play riddled with irony. Instead, these lines imply that both households are equally undignified.

This irony also serves another purpose: notifying first-time readers that not all that glitters is gold. While both families might technically be considered nobility, their shared inability to act nobly toward one another ultimately leads to a bitter end for our tragic heroes. Dialogue is an incredible tool for revealing what a character is like — and how they choose to say something will often speak volumes about who they are.

Very often, people who use verbal irony tend to be highly self-aware — or entirely oblivious. Example: In Casablanca, the corrupt yet charming police captain Louis Renault follows instructions from German officials to order a raid on Rick's nightclub under the pretext of closing an illegal gambling den. This knowing overstatement of 'shocked' reveals a lot about his cheerfully cynical worldview.

Of course, sometimes writers use verbal irony simply to be funny. Whether it's to highlight a witty character, lighten tension during a dark or difficult scene, or simply make people laugh, verbal irony can provide a much-needed moment of comic relief. As you might expect, verbal irony is a common joke component.

This one is a bit of a bonus because it's not technically a literary device — it's more of an "everyday life" type of irony. It can often be used to uncover someone's deceit. In a similar vein, Socrates gave birth to the Socratic teaching method, where the teacher pretends not to know about a subject to encourage the student to use their power of reasoning to arrive at the correct answer. Learn More About irony.

Time Traveler for irony The first known use of irony was in See more words from the same year. From the Editors at Merriam-Webster. Trending: Irony Trending: Irony After a widely read essay offered ways to "live without irony" Style: MLA. More Definitions for irony.

Kids Definition of irony. Get Word of the Day daily email! Test Your Vocabulary. Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words? Love words?

Need even more definitions? Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms The same, but different. Ask the Editors 'Everyday' vs.