Irony
Irony is a literary technique that often adds humor, suspense, and tension in a story. A
few years ago, Alanis Morrisette released the song “Isn’t it ironic”. Take a look at some
of the lyrics and see if you can determine a definition for irony using the examples
Morrisette includes in her song.
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
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 advice that you just didn't take
And who would've thought, it figures
Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye
He waited his whole d--- 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?
I. Write a definition of irony based on the song: Irony is when _______________________
__________________________________________________________________________.
II. Next to each set of lyrics, explain why the events in those lines are ironic.
Three Types of Irony
Type of Irony
Verbal Irony
Definition
The intended
meaning of a
statement differs
from the meaning
that the words
appear to express
Situational Irony
A difference
between what is
expected or
intended and what
actually occurs;
the opposite of
what you expect to
happen
Dramatic Irony
The audience is
aware of
something of
which the
characters are
unaware; the
audience knows
something the
characters don’t
know
Example
Example of your own
John is a horrible
employee, and
when someone
calls his boss for a
reference check,
the boss says,
“You should
definitely hire,
John.”
The fire
department
catches on fire and
burns down.
An attractive
young woman is
frolicking in the
ocean completely
unaware that Jaws
is swimming
towards her. The
audience is aware
that the shark is
about to attack, but
the girl never sees
it coming.
Example from short story