Irony 3 Kinds of Irony

What is Irony? Irony is about expectations. Irony: the opposite of what is expected. 3 kinds of irony Verbal Dramatic Situational

Verbal Irony A character says one thing but means the opposite Also called sarcasm or being sarcastic. Examples The locker room smells really good. Awesome! Another homework packet!

Dramatic Irony When the reader understands more about the events of a story than a character. You know something that a character doesn’t. Example Tim’s parents are proud of the “A” he got on the test, but we know he cheated. Alex writes a love poem to Judy but we know that Judy loves Devin.

Situational Irony When what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected. Something about the situation is completely unexpected. Example The General's last words were, “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.”

Something that is ironic is unexpected. Review Something that is ironic is unexpected. If unexpected by a character, it’s dramatic. If unexpected by everyone, it’s situational. If it’s sarcasm, it’s verbal.

Irony in The Sniper Remember that there are several types of irony (situational, dramatic, verbal, etc...). However, the major irony we are dealing with here is the situational irony: the idea that what we expect as readers is not the result we get at all (we don't expect a fire truck to be on fire, hence, situational irony). 

` So, in the case of O'Flaherty's "The Sniper", which takes place in the middle of Dublin, during a time of civil war, the ironic twist at the end is what most turn to and what is most memorable. Clearly, the Republican sniper the narrator follows is supposed to eliminate enemies and threats. However, the threat he eliminates is his own brother, and the reader does not expect that. We don't expect the protagonist to have such a close, personal connection to the figure he kills, a figure he regards as a "good shot", like himself. And from that we can infer that they grew up learning to shoot together. 

Another instance of situational irony is the "old woman," the informant for the enemy which he kills. We don't expect an old person to take an active role in a civil war such as this. But her cover makes sense, since no one would suspect her of dealing with the enemy, and many would quickly and easily dismiss her. However, our sniper guns her down, something we might not necessarily expect as well.

Irony in The Tell-Tale Heart Dramatic irony is definitely shown through the narrator’s complaints to the audience that he is not mad—he is not insane. The audience knows, even though the narrator has yet to accept it, that he is indeed mad. There is irony in the sneakiness with which the narrator creeps around waiting for the eye to be open, when it is the sneakiness that keeps the old man asleep and unaware. 

There is situational irony on the night when he frightens the old man, opens the lantern after an hour or more and sees the eye looking at him. This is ironic because it is the open eye that he has been waiting for, and yet the eye fills him with rage. We would expect manic joy at the least that the deed could now be done. And there is great irony in that “his acute sense of hearing” caused him to hear the beating of a heart which could no longer—and did no longer—beat.