Question

irony

3 types of irony
verbal irony: when what is said is actually the opposite of what is meant.
situational irony: when there is a contrast between the result of a situation, and what was intended or expected.
dramatic irony: when the audience or reader knows more than the characters in a literary work.

why use irony?
writers use irony to allow an audience to see the contradictions in people, situations, and societies. verbal irony is often used in everyday conversation as sarcasm. situational and dramatic irony in literature allow a reader to ponder and analyze a text. the juxtaposition of expectations with reality enable a reader to gain a deep meaning from the text.

examples

• the police chief’s son gets arrested for robbery
• a marriage counselor gets a divorce
• a pilot is afraid of heights
• “well, that was as clear as mud”
• “thanks for the ticket officer, you just made my day”

directions: for each sentence, identify the type of irony and explain why it’s ironic.

table:

sentence

type

explanation

| ex. |
ice shirt!\ she commented about the hawaiian-printed monstrosity. | verbal | the shirt is obviously ugly as it is described as a monstrosity, yet the speaker said it was nice. |

1	ronald mcdonald is seen eating a whopper.	(written: situational irony)	the company mascot is eating another burger.
2	a no smoking sign on your cigarette break.
3	the name of britain’s biggest dog was “tiny.”
4	twitter post during the miss america pageant: great questions, but beauty without brains is a bumper.
5	in shrek, the audience knows princess fiona is an ogre, but shrek doesn’t.	(written: dramatic irony)
6	a death row pardon, two minutes too late.	(written: situational irony)	a death row pardon needs to be on time.
7	mom walks into your dirty room and says, “wow, i see you’ve cleaned your room.”	(written: verbal irony)
8	one character says to another “i’ll see you tomorrow!” when the audience (but not the character) knows that the character will die before morning.

Explanation:

Item 2

The situation has a contrast between the sign's message (no smoking) and the action (smoking during a cigarette break), so it's situational irony.

The sign prohibits smoking, but the person is taking a cigarette break (implying they are smoking), so there's a contrast between the expected (following the no - smoking sign) and the actual situation (smoking).

Item 3

The dog is Britain's biggest, but its name is "Tiny", which is the opposite of what is expected for a big dog, so it's verbal irony (the name is a contrast to the dog's actual size, like a verbal statement that's opposite to reality).

Answer:

Type: Situational Irony