Examples and Definitions Irony Vocabulary Examples and Definitions

Satire: All satire is ironic in that meaning or theme is conveyed in the discrepancy between what is said and what is meant, between what is and what should be, and between what appears and what truly is. Serves to criticize human behavior or a society.

Irony: A tone or figure of speech in which there is a discrepancy – a striking difference or contradiction – between what is expressed and what is meant or expected. Irony is often used to create a humorous tone, and to criticize.

Model Analysis: When the author describes a prisoner singing “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands,” the reader knows that he is being ironic, and instead means for the reader to understand that, just as they cannot clap their hands, they could not possibly be happy.

Sarcasm: A critically, bitterly ironic statement, intended to cut or criticize its target.

Model Analysis: When the boy responds to the girl’s statement by saying “Without a question doctor Freud,” the reader knows that he is being sarcastic, and instead means for the reader to understand that the girl’s statement is idiotic and untrue

Juxtaposition: A literary technique where an author places two objects, characters, events, etc. close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast

Model Analysis: The photographer juxtaposes a towering corporate tower with a much smaller place of religious worship in order to expose how much more Americans value the pursuit of profit over spiritual or religious development.

Dramatic Irony: A literary technique where the author has characters say or do things in a way that the reader knows is ironic, but the characters do not.

Model Analysis: By juxtaposing a young girl singing and smiling without a care in the world with the great white shark charging towards her, this poster creates dramatic irony. The viewer is drawn in and emotionally involve, because he knows the girl is behaving exactly opposite to the way she should.