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Explore the intricate world of irony, where words and actions convey hidden meanings. From Socratic to dramatic to romantic irony, discover the layers of depth in communication. Delve into historical examples and modern interpretations.
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Irony: Definition • Irony: difference between what is said or shown, and what is meant. • Assumes Two Audiences: • one that hears & doesn’t understand what is meant • another (much smaller) that hears and does understand what is meant • Distance between: • Statement & Intention • Promise & Action • Appearance & Reality • Irony = Insincerity • Antonym—or cure—is sincerity or authenticity
Irony: Details • Etymology: Gr. eironeia (dissimulation), (an eiron), a meaning of an utterance or a situation that is different, often opposite, to the literal one. • Comparative List [ Type |Purpose | Example ] • Humour: discovery – “Dr., I want a second opinion.” • Wit: enlightenment – “Quitting smoking is easy….” • Satire: amendment – Colbert Report • Sarcasm: inflicting pain – “You are really smart…” • Invective: discrediting – “Thank-you for the grade…” • Irony: exclusiveness — “_______________” • Cynicism: self-justification– “All politicians are crooks.”
Irony: Historical Development of Types • Socratic irony Socratic irony is feigning ignorance in order to expose the weakness of another’s position. • Socrates & Ali G. • Roman irony or Rhetorical Irony • In Roman times, irony was used in public speaking and rhetoric: words used opposite their meaning or intent. “The honourable member ….” • A form of Verbal Irony • Use of words to convey something other than, and especially the opposite of, the literal meaning of the words. • Jane Austen’s famous Pride & Prejudice opening: • “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a wife.” • Dramatic Irony: audience knows something that the characters in a drama do not.
Irony: Historical Development of Types, con’t • Situational irony • Situational irony occurs when the results of a situation are far different from what is expected or required. • English professor makes a spleling mistak while correcting a student’s spelling error. • Irony of fate or Cosmic irony (larger Situational Irony) • The expression “irony of fate” stems from the notion that the gods (or the Fates) are amusing themselves by toying with the minds of mortals, with deliberate ironic intent. • July 2011, New York motorcyclist Phillip Contos led a 550-cyclist rally to protest State law mandating motorcycle helmets…and crashed during the ride and died from a head injury that a helmet would have prevented. • Historical Irony (cosmic irony over time): • The ‘Enlightenment’ spread slavery & disease to First Nations in “New World.” • Britain won WWII & forgave German War debt: but their own war debt crippled them, while Germany rose to economic dominance in the post-war 20th & 21st centuries.
Irony: Historical Development of Types • Romantic Irony (The Irony characteristic of the 18th C. Romanticist Movement: e.g. Mary Shelley.) • “Romantic”” prose or poetic heroic narrative originating in medieval literature and romantic (i.e. vernacular) literature: a turn to Nature as the locus of Truth– feeling over reason. (Neo-Humanism.) • A development of Dramatic Irony: in Romantic irony, the author is the god-like spectator to the script or novel; smiling at the foibles of the characters, and, by extension, the real world that the literature refers to.
Irony: Historical Development of Types • From this, it is only a short step to the idea that God is the supreme Ironist; watching the tragedy of the world, knowing that its end– which He of course designed– is a comedy. • Romantic Irony shows an awareness, a sensibility, that the author does not wish or expect the work to be taken wholly seriously, and thus invites a similar tone in the reader. • Achieved through a tone of writing & by verbal cues. • Assumes) faculties & shared knowledge in the reader. • “This form of irony works best when the author is showing us what he is doing while he is doing it, so to speak….for instance when he comments literary composition and perhaps on the composition at hand.”
Historical IronyLeader of England’s State Christian Church (“Anglican Church”) promotes Islamic ‘Sharia’ Law in UK.
