Irony

A writer’s use of literary devices can enhance an ordinary piece of writing into a masterpiece. Irony, one of the most commonly used literary devices, is seen throughout all of literature. In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, especially, irony plays an extensive role in strengthening the plot and the relationships between characters. Irony sets up first impressions, situations and their aftermaths, and the realizations of misjudgment from first impressions. It also provides contrast between what a character says versus what a character actually means, the expectation of an outcome versus what ultimately happens, and information the audience knows versus information the characters know. Pride and Prejudice displays a great deal of knowledge…

Irony, you may not think of it as much more than a minor literary device, but it often plays an enormous factor in short stories today. For example, The Interlopers, by Saki, is a short story which utilizes the effects of irony noticeably well by using ironic humor to connect the reader to the reading. To define, irony is when the opposite of what is expected to happen occurs. In this case, the story displays a strong sense of situational irony, which is irony that no one knows is coming. Irony…

Genuine character is exposed in the decisions people make under pressure. Characterization is a central technique used strategically by writers such as Shirley Jackson and Edgar Allen Poe to give readers a unique perspective. The use of setting and irony also play an important role in helping the audience understand a character. In the short story The Lottery, Jackson uses literary devices such as setting and irony to characterize the dark side of a seemingly innocent town. Irony is the contrast…

Labyrinth was a bust because it didn't make a lot of money in the theaters, but others might disagree. Jim Henson uses the literary device called irony to create excitement in Labyrinth. How do authors create the feeling of excitement? They use the literary device called irony. There are three main types of irony which are verbal, dramatic, and situational. Verbal irony is sarcasm,but also doing the opposite of what you said. Dramatic irony is when we know what a character doesn't. Situational…

There are three types of irony: Situational irony, verbal irony and dramatic Irony. Situational irony is when there is a situation where the readers think they know what happens, but something much different than they expected happens. An example of this would be: “I was in front of them all! I was winning-first place was in only a few yards. I hit the ribbon-then bounced back a few feet. What happened? All of a sudden, my rival burst through the ribbon and was crowned winner of the race. I hate…

The aim of this research is to introduce the concept of irony and hyperreality in the metafictional novel entitled Atonement (2001) by contemporary British novelist Ian Russell McEwan. Irony is a rhetorical device, an act of speech and a textual effect produced when “the said and the unsaid together make up the third meaning – the ironic meaning,” (Linda Hutcheon, 1994: 60). Various types of irony can be observed in Atonement due to its the complex narrative perspectives and its nature i.e. a…

say “Verbal irony is nonliteral language that makes salient a discrepancy between expectations and reality” (286). In other words this is when someone says something and they mean the opposite of what was said. A few examples of when Poe uses this type of irony is seen when Montresor tells Fortunato that they should leave the catacombs; for his health was more important than sampling the expensive wine that Montresor had told Fortunato that he had found. Another time that the reader sees this…

The detectives needed to find the murder weapon to find the killer but instead, they got rid of the evidence by eating it. Another irony in this story was the dramatic irony. I knew that the officers were unknowingly eating the murder weapon which made me feel frustrated and angry. I felt as if I wanted to go into the story, yell how stupid they were being and expose the truth about Mary. This is an effect dramatic irony has on the reader, and creating an emotion in me made the story that much…

The irony in “Ballad of Birmingham” is what gives the poem its unique feel and the power that it had during the Civil Rights movement. As stated in Susan Jolley’s “Integrating Poetry and To Kill a Mockingbird” this poem “teaches irony, imagery, the power of poetry, and the history of our country.” (Jolley) This means that this poem is a generational poem and still holds power to this day because of its literary devices such as irony. In this poem Randall incorporates situational irony by giving…

Irony helps to develop a theme of selflessness in the short story “The Gift of the Magi” as O. Henry reveals the misfortune behind the story. Near the conclusion of the story irony is frequently used to show the pure misfortune of the tale. Since Jim “sold the watch to get the money to buy [the] combs”, and “the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments were gone” it’s easy to see the pure misfortune and irony of the situation (Henry, 5). However, through this misfortune we also…