Home > Terms > English (EN) > irony
irony
A literary device that uses contradictory statements or situations to reveal a reality different from what appears to be true. It is ironic for a firehouse to burn down, or for a police station to be burglarized. Verbal irony is a figure of speech that occurs when a person says one thing but means the opposite. Sarcasm is a strong form of verbal irony that is calculated to hurt someone through, for example, false praise. Dramatic irony creates a discrepancy between what a character believes or says and what the reader or audience member knows to be true. Tragic irony is a form of dramatic irony found in tragedies such as Oedipus the King, in which Oedipus searches for the person responsible for the plague that ravishes his city and ironically ends up hunting himself. Situational irony exists when there is an incongruity between what is expected to happen and what actually happens due to forces beyond human comprehension or control. The suicide of the seemingly successful main character in Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem "Richard Cory" is an example of situational irony. Cosmic irony occurs when a writer uses God, destiny, or fate to dash the hopes and expectations of a character or of humankind in general. In cosmic irony, a discrepancy exists between what a character aspires to and what universal forces provide. Stephen Crane’s poem "A Man Said to the Universe" is a good example of cosmic irony, because the universe acknowledges no obligation to the man’s assertion of his own existence.
- Part of Speech: noun
- Synonym(s):
- Blossary:
- Industry/Domain: Literature
- Category: General literature
- Company:
- Product:
- Acronym-Abbreviation:
Other Languages:
Member comments
Terms in the News
Billy Morgan
Sports; Snowboarding
The British snowboarder Billy Morgan has landed the sport’s first ever 1800 quadruple cork. The rider, who represented Great Britain in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, was in Livigno, Italy, when he achieved the man-oeuvre. It involves flipping four times, while body also spins with five complete rotations on a sideways or downward-facing axis. The trick ...
Marzieh Afkham
Broadcasting & receiving; News
Marzieh Afkham, who is the country’s first foreign ministry spokeswoman, will head a mission in east Asia, the state news agency reported. It is not clear to which country she will be posted as her appointment has yet to be announced officially. Afkham will only be the second female ambassador Iran has had. Under the last shah’s rule, Mehrangiz Dolatshahi, a ...
Weekly Packet
Language; Online services; Slang; Internet
Weekly Packet or "Paquete Semanal" as it is known in Cuba is a term used by Cubans to describe the information that is gathered from the internet outside of Cuba and saved onto hard drives to be transported into Cuba itself. Weekly Packets are then sold to Cuban's without internet access, allowing them to obtain information just days - and sometimes hours - after it ...
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
Banking; Investment banking
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international financial institution established to address the need in Asia for infrastructure development. According to the Asian Development Bank, Asia needs $800 billion each year for roads, ports, power plants or other infrastructure projects before 2020. Originally proposed by China in 2013, a signing ...
Spartan
Online services; Internet
Spartan is the codename given to the new Microsoft Windows 10 browser that will replace Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer. The new browser will be built from the ground up and disregard any code from the IE platform. It has a new rendering engine that is built to be compatible with how the web is written today. The name Spartan is named after the ...
Featured Terms
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld is an American comedian, actor, writer, and television/film producer, best known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the ...
Contributor
Featured blossaries
Browers Terms By Category
- Wireless networking(199)
- Modems(93)
- Firewall & VPN(91)
- Networking storage(39)
- Routers(3)
- Network switches(2)
Network hardware(428) Terms
- General Finance(7677)
- Funds(1299)
- Commodity exchange(874)
- Private equity(515)
- Accountancy(421)
- Real estate investment(192)
Financial services(11765) Terms
- Cooking(3691)
- Fish, poultry, & meat(288)
- Spices(36)
Culinary arts(4015) Terms
- Christmas(52)
- Easter(33)
- Spring festival(22)
- Thanksgiving(15)
- Spanish festivals(11)
- Halloween(3)
Festivals(140) Terms
- Satellites(455)
- Space flight(332)
- Control systems(178)
- Space shuttle(72)