Irony: Definition
 Irony: difference between what is said or
shown, and what is meant.
 Assumes Two Audiences:
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
one that hears and doesn’t know what is meant
another (much smaller) that hears and does
understand what is meant
 Distance between:
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Statement & Intention
Promise & Action
Appearance & Reality
 Irony = Insincerity
 Antonym—or cure—is sincerity or authenticity
Irony: Details
 Etymology: Gr. eironeia (dissimulation), (an eiron), a
meaning of an utterance or a situation that is
different, often opposite, to the literal one.
 Comparative List (Type, Purpose; Example)
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Humour: discovery – “Dr., I want a second opinion.”
Wit: enlightenment – “Quitting smoking is easy….”
Satire: amendment – Colbert Report
Sarcasm: inflicting pain – “You are really smart…”
Invective: discrediting – “Thank-you for the war…”
Irony: exclusiveness
Cynicism: self-justification– “All politicians are crooks.”
Irony: Historical Development of Types
 Socratic irony Socratic irony is feigning ignorance in
order to expose the weakness of another’s position.

Socrates & Ali G.
 Roman irony or Rhetorical Irony
 In Roman times, irony was used in public speaking and
rhetoric: words used opposite their meaning or intent.
“The honourable member ….”
 A form of Verbal Irony
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
Use of words to convey something other than, and especially the
opposite of, the literal meaning of the words.
famous Pride & Prejudice opening:
 “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in
posesssion of a large fortune must be in want of a wife.”
 Dramatic Irony: audience knows something that
the characters in a drama do not.
Irony: Historical Development of Types, con’t
1.
Situational irony
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2.
Irony of fate or Cosmic irony (larger Situational Irony)


3.
Situational irony occurs when the results of a situation are far
different from what is expected.
English professor makes a spleling mistak while correcting a
student’s error.
The expression “irony of fate” stems from the notion that the gods
(or the Fates) are amusing themselves by toying with the minds
of mortals, with deliberate ironic intent.
Minor examples are daily life situations such as the rain that sets
in immediately after one finishes watering one’s garden, following
many days of putting off watering in anticipation of rain. LIFE IS
UNFAIR.
Historical Irony (cosmic irony over time):


The ‘Enlightenment’ spreading slavery & disease to First Nations
in New World.
Britain winning WWII but watching Germany rise to dominance in
the post-war 20th Century.
Irony: Historical Development of Types
 Socratic irony Socratic irony is feigning ignorance in order to
expose the weakness of another’s position.
 Socrates & Ali G.
 Roman irony or Rhetorical Irony
 In Roman times, irony was used in public speaking and
rhetoric: words used opposite their meaning or intent. “The
honourable member ….”
 A form of Verbal Irony


Use of words to convey something other than, and especially
the opposite of, the literal meaning of the words.
famous Pride & Prejudice opening:
 “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in
posesssion of a large fortune must be in want of a wife.”
 Dramatic Irony: audience knows something the characters
in a drama do not.
Irony: Historical Development of Types
 Romantic Irony (The Irony characteristic of the 18th
C. Romanticist Movement: e.g. our friend William
Blake.)

“Romantic”” prose or poetic heroic narrative originating
in medieval literature and romantic (i.e. vernacular)
literature: a turn to Nature as the locus of Truth–
feeling over reason. (Neo-Humanism.)
 A development of Dramatic Irony: in Romantic irony,
the author is the god-like spectator to the script or
novel; smiling at the foibles of the characters, and, by
extension, the real world that the literature refers to.
Irony: Historical Development of Types
 From this, it is only a short step to the idea that God is the
supreme Ironist; watching the tragedy of the world, knowing that
its end– which He of course designed– is a comedy.
 Romantic Irony shows an awareness, a sensibility, that the
author does not wish or expect the work to be taken wholly
seriously, and thus invites a similar tone in the reader.
1.
2.
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Achieved through a tone of writing & by verbal cues.
Assumes) faculties & shared knowledge in the reader.
“This form of irony works best when the author is showing
us what he is doing while he is doing it, so to speak….for
instance when he comments literary composition and
perhaps on the composition at hand.”
Irony: Historical Development of Types, con’t
1.
Situational irony

People and events coming together in improbable situations creating
a tension between expected and real results. Situational irony occurs
when the results of a situation are far different from what was
expected. This results in a feeling of surprise and unfairness due to
the odd situation.

2.
Irony of fate or Cosmic irony (larger Situational Irony)

3.
English professor makes a spleling mistak on a spelling test.
The expression “irony of fate” stems from the notion that the gods (or
the Fates) are amusing themselves by toying with the minds of
mortals, with deliberate ironic intent. Minor examples are daily life
situations such as the rain that sets in immediately after one finishes
watering one’s garden, following many days of putting off watering in
anticipation of rain. LIFE IS UNFAIR.
Historical Irony (cosmic irony over time):


The Enlightenment spreading slavery & disease to First Nations in
New World.
Movements against intolerance become intolerant
Irony: Historical Development: Verbal
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Figures of irony:
antiphrasis
Irony of one word, often derisively through patent contradiction.
 Referring to a hard slapshot: "No power on that shot, eh?"
paralipsis
Stating and drawing attention to something in the very act of pretending to pass
it over.
 It would be unseemly for me to dwell on Dr. Ogden’s drinking problem, and
too many have already sensationalized his gambling habits...
epitrope
Turns things over the hearer, either ironically, or in such a way as to gain an
advantage for the speaker by doing so.
 “Go ahead: make my day.” “[BOSS] OK: you can leave work early again.”
sarcasmus
Use of mockery or taunts.
mycterismus
 mockery with an accompanying gesture, such as a scornful look.
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Situational Irony, e.g.:
A ‘Welcome’ Sign on a Locked Door
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Cosmic Irony:
e.g. “The Monkey’s Paw”
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Historical Irony, e.g.:
England’s State Church Head promotes Islamic ‘Sharia’ Law
in UK.
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SIMULACRUM
 A COPY OR
REPRESENTTAION
OF REALITY

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‘similar’ to the real
thing
appearance, not
reality.
Examples:
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Maps
Disneyland
 Stages of the simulacrum
1. It is the reflection of a basic
reality.
2. It masks and perverts a
basic reality.
3. It masks the absence of a
basic reality.
4. It bears no relation to any
reality whatever: it is its own
pure simulacrum.
Plato’s Cave
 Example of the power of essay to:
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Create forceful images
Condense the largest and most abstract concepts into
a short and concrete literary form.
Express complex and massive ideas in an immediate
and unforgettable way
Transport myth—i.e. the fundamental truths of a
civilisation.

The sense—the myth—more important than words used
 Plato’s Cave is the Meta-Parable:

A Parable about what a parable does—i.e. what the
teller of a parable is doing.
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Plato’s Cave: Life & Reality
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Plato’s Cave: example #1
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Plato’s Cave: example #2
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Plato’s Cave: example #3
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Plato’s Cave: example #4
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