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What Is The Meaning Of Irony?
The contrast between two or more things depending on how they are and how they seem to be is the meaning of irony. The irony is a Latin word that is derived from ironia that means feigned ignorance. Most of the writers and language holders use irony in the form of literary devices to generate humor, the tension in a plot.
Let us take a look at the types of irony-
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Dramatic Irony
This irony is used when the reader knows the important information which the characters don’t know about. The world-famous writer William Shakespeare had the mastery of using dramatic irony. For example, when the hero doesn’t know that the villain is standing behind his back, that is the dramatic irony definition.
The aim behind using irony is to build suspense and fear as well as elicit sympathy for a character in the plot. In many novels, movies; writers have used dramatic irony to create comical situations. Yes, misunderstandings in other’s life become the reason for humor in our life.
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Situational Irony
Have you understood the meaning of irony till now? Now, let us understand what situational irony has to say. It is used when the irony of events happens, or when the truth is contradicting an expected outcome and something unexpected happens in life. No, it is not similar to coincidence. No, it is not even bad luck. Situational irony is when a person who is a professional driver and has won the award of the best driver of the year in a competition crashes his car into a tree on his way to him.
The main reason why situational irony is put into the story is to bring a character into an impossible situation. Otherwise, the hero will simply get the girl without any hindrances; no twist in the story; no amusement. Many great writers have used this concept for emphasizing the theme or moral of the story.
In addition to that, situational irony meaning is also cleared by creating a good old-fashioned twist in the story. It results in drawing attention from the readers.
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Verbal Irony
When the intended meaning of a statement is different or we can say totally different from what it is said is called verbal irony. Sarcasm is a form of verbal irony. It is used to denigrate something or someone. Various phrases are used while making the use of verbal irony, clear as mud, thanking someone when you have done something bad to them.
When it is overstating or understating of a situation, then verbal irony works- it is verbal irony definition defined in simple words. Verbal irony can prove the path for providing an insight into a character. Yes, apart from all these, comic relief is another reason for using this type of irony.
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Socratic Irony
Socratic irony is used in everyday lives. It is a technique that is used to uncover deceit by someone. It is named after a very famous moral philosopher, Socrates because he was the one who introduced feign ignorance to bring out the faulty assumption of someone. He gave birth to this technique as well as a teaching method. Here the teacher acts like he/she doesn’t know a certain thing to encourage the students to use their reasoning power to reach the correct answer.
Hence, the meaning of irony is creating a contrast between underlying truths and appearances. It is able to change the way readers interact with the writer and form a different image of his writing. Yes, the expectations from the next plots also increase.
Also Read: Meaning of Colonel
