Irony
Definition of Irony
• The contrast or discrepancy between
expectation and reality
• The understanding of a statement or event
is changed by its context (sometimes
having additional information, sometimes
tone of voice)
Types of Irony
• Situational irony: what happens is
the opposite of what is expected
• It is not just something surprising, but the
complete opposite of what is expected
Examples
• Situational Irony
• Example: The firehouse burned down.
• Example: A man takes a step aside in
order to avoid getting sprinkled by a wet
dog, and falls into a swimming pool.
• Example: “The Gift of the Magi”
In Othello
• Situational Irony
• Cassio is the one Iago wants dead or fired,
and at the end of the play, Cassio is the
only one in Iago’s plot that is still alive, and
he gets a promotion to general.
• Emilia is Desdemona’s friend, and helps
with the plot against her unknowingly.
Types of Irony
• Dramatic irony: the audience or
reader knows more about a character’s
situation than the character does and
knows that the character’s understanding
is incorrect
• It often leads to the character making a big
mistake.
Examples
• Dramatic irony:
• Example: In Romeo and Juliet, when
Romeo finds Juliet in the tomb, the reader
knows that she is still alive but Romeo
thinks she is dead.
• Example: In horror movies, you sometimes
want to warn, “don’t open the door!” or
“don’t go in there!”
In Othello
• Dramatic irony:
• The repetitive use of the phrase “honest
Iago” when we know he is a liar
• We know that Desdemona was faithful, but
Othello doesn’t, and that is why he vows to
kill her.
• We know that Iago is plotting against
Othello, but Othello trusts him as a friend.
Types of Irony
• Verbal irony: a discrepancy between
what is said and what is really meant
• This can be sarcasm.
• This can be outright lies by a character to
deceive others.
Examples
• Verbal Irony
• Example: A large man whose nickname is
“Tiny”
• Example: Something bad happens to
someone and they say, “Oh, that’s just
great.”
In Othello
• Verbal Irony
• Iago says to Othello, “beware, my Lord, of
jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster
which doth mock the meat it feeds on.”
Iago is warning against jealousy while
trying to make Othello jealous (and being
a jealous character himself), so he is
saying the opposite of what he means to
do.