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PARADOX AND IRONY. PARADOX AND IRONY. Verbal Irony and Paradox work essentially on a common principle of apparent contradiction and, therefore, often arise from the same context.
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PARADOX AND IRONY • Verbal Irony and Paradox work essentially on a common principle of apparent contradiction and, therefore, often arise from the same context. • Paradox treats opposites in such a way that both elements of the contradiction seem to be true but in different contexts • Irony is based on a sense of some difference: things are not as they seem: they do not turn out as they should
… • Irony may also be a figure of speech; hence the term “verbal irony,” in which the meaning of the words is simply reversed by the ironic tone • Popular phrases such as “the home of the brave” “The land of the free” or “America the beautiful” can easily be twisted to mean their opposite • In “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” there is an abundance of verbal irony. After Bottom has been transformed so that he has the head of an ass, he speaks metaphorically of being an ass, although he does not realize ironically that he has been transformed
… • Dramatic Irony and verbal irony are at times not completely separable. Complex circumstances, which are paradoxical and ironic often, produce language of a similar variety. Example from “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell from Binder • Situational Irony is a term used to describe a circumstance or a series of events that bring into existence contrasting elements.