• the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning
• an unexpected event
• the difference in the actual words that are said and what is really meant

• Example: Susan asked if I could join her at the beach this weekend. When
I replied that I couldn’t because I had to work all weekend, she replied, “How nice!”

• Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet :
Thanks to the chorus, the reader is let in on the plot reads the whole play basically knowing what will happen.
•
• Ex: Romeo and Juliet dance together not knowing that the other is a member of their enemy’s family. The reader, on the other hand, is aware of this.

Verbal irony is when a speaker says one thing but means another, or when a literal meaning is contrary to its intended effect. An example of this is sarcasm.
Dramatic irony is when words and actions possess a significance that the listener or audience understands, but the speaker or character does not.
Situational irony is when the result of an action is contrary to the desired or expected effect.

• It’s as clear as mud!
•That’s about as funny as a toothache.
•“I’m not angry at all!” she exclaimed as smoke poured from her ears.

• In Stephen King’s “The Last Rung on the
Ladder,” the reader knew that Kitty’s brother didn’t mean to ignore her and really did care for her, but she did not, and ultimately took her own life as a result.
• In Lois Lowry’s The Giver , the reader knows that it is silly and sheltering to live the way that the people in Jonas’ community live, but they have no idea.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a story whose plot revolves around irony. Dorothy travels to a wizard and fulfills her challenging demands to go home, before discovering she had the ability to go back home all the time. The
Scarecrow longs for intelligence, only to discover he is already a genius, and the Tin
Man longs to be capable of love, only to discover he already has a heart. The Lion, who at first appears to be a whimpering coward, turns out to be bold and fearless.
The people in Emerald City believe the
Wizard to have been a powerful god, only to discover he was a eccentric old man.

• Virginia Woolf
• Alanis Morisette
• Frederic Brown
• Stevie Smith
• Flannery O’Connor

An old man turned ninety-eight
He won the lottery and died the next day
It’s a black fly in your chardonnay
It’s a death row pardon two minutes too late
Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you when you think everything’s okay and everything’s going right
And life has a funny way of throwing you out when you think everything’s gone wrong and everything blows up in your face
Chorus:
And isn’t it ironic, don’t you think?
It’s like rain on your wedding day
It’s a free ride when you’ve already paid
It’s the good adivce that you just didn’t take
And who would have thought? It figures……..
A traffic jam when you’re already late
A no smoking sign on your cigarette break
It’s like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
It’s meeting the man of my dreams and then meeting his beautiful wife
Mr. Play-it-safe was afraid to fly
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye
He waited his whole life to take that flight
And as the plane crashed down, he thought well isn’t this nice?
And isn’t it ironic, don’t you think?
It’s like rain on your wedding day
It’s a free ride when you’ve already paid
It’s the good adivce that you just didn’t take
And who would have thought? It figures……
Chorus

It’s like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife

• In 1974 the US Consumer Product
Safety Commission had to recall 80,000 of its own lapel buttons promoting "toy safety", because the buttons had sharp edges, used lead paint, and had small clips that could be broken off and swallowed.
• Jim Fixx, who popularized jogging as a form of healthy exercise in his 1977 book, The Complete Book of Running, died at the age of 52 of a heart attack (a death associated with sedentary, unhealthy lifestyles) while out jogging.
Make
Safe
Toys