Seinfeld https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAMjcBn7Y6k

There are Three Types of Irony Verbal irony Situational irony Dramatic irony

VERBAL Verbal irony is the use of words to mean something different from what a person actually says. The main feature of verbal irony that sets it apart from the other different types of irony is that it is used by a speaker intentionally. It occurs in a conversation where a person aims to be understood as meaning something different to what his or her words literally mean. Examples of verbal irony include: “Thanks for the ticket officer you just made my day!” “I can’t wait to read the seven hundred page report.”

Verbal Irony http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiR-bnCHIYo As pleasant as surgery  As sunny as the day in winter in Alaska This car goes as fast as a Huffy bicycle. He's as nice as a lion to his prey. Her car is as clean as a convenience store trashcan. Their house is as quiet as an after hours club. She is as polite as a shark.

Dramatic Irony http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZFYuX84n1U This type of irony is popular in works of art such as movies, books, poems and plays. It occurs when the audience is aware of something that the characters in the story are not aware of at all.

In Star Wars, Luke does not know Darth Vader is his father until Episode V, but the audience knows sooner. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the audience knows that Macbeth acts loyal to Duncan while planning his murder. In Smallville, Clark comments that in the future he does not want to put on a suit and fly around and the audience knows he will. In There's Something About Mary, the audience knows that Ted is being interrogated about a murder and Ted thinks he is being arrested for picking up a hitchhiker. His words are funny because of his misunderstanding. In the Doctor Who 2012 Christmas Special, the audience immediately recognizes Clara but the Doctor does not. In Toy Story, the toys move when the people are not there. Also, Buzz thinks he is a real space ranger.

Situational https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqg6RO8c_W0

Situational Irony https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqg6RO8c_W0 Situational irony occurs when the exact opposite of what is meant to happen, happens. There is however a difference between situation irony and coincidence or bad luck. When someone washes his car and it rains, that is just bad luck; nothing led him or her to think that it would not rain. However, when a TV weather presenter gets caught in an unexpected storm, it is ironic because he or she is expected to know the exact weather changes. For situation irony to occur there has to be something that leads a person to think that a particular event or situation is unlikely to happen.

What you can do . . . Use contrasts. When you have a naive character trying to make it in the big city, or you have a foreigner arriving in a new land where they don’t know the language or the customs, you set up a lot of opportunities for dramatic irony.

What you can do . . . Use flashbacks and flash forwards. By revealing something in the past or the future, you may show the audience something that the characters do not. For example, in the television show Smallville, dramatic irony is created because the teenage Clark Kent does not yet know that he will become Superman and does not yet know that his friend Lex Luthor will become his enemy.

What you can do . . . Use historic events and characters. Look at Forrest Gump. When you use historic events and characters in your story, your audience automatically knows a lot that you can choose to allow your characters to know or not.

What you can do . . . Use karma. They say that what goes around comes around. Maybe your character has been guilty of committing some crime and then becomes the victim of it. This doesn’t have to be an actual “crime.” It can be something as simple as betraying a friend or lying to a loved one.