1. Irony: Verbal, Situational, and Dramatic
Ms. Robinson
Literature

2. Irony (The general definition of)
A contradiction between appearance and reality, between expectation and outcome, or between meaning and intention.
Three different kinds of irony:
Verbal
Situational
Dramatic

3. Verbal Irony
Occurs when someone says something that deliberately contradicts what that person actually means.
Ex: Positive connotations- “My, you’ve certainly made a mess of things!” could be said to a hostess who presents a spectacular dish prepared with obvious care and skill.
Ex: Negative connotations- Sarcasm. “Go ahead and keep sleeping during class, why don’t you?” could be said to a sleepy student even though the teacher clearly doesn’t want the student to keep sleeping.

4. Situational Irony
Occurs when something happens that contradicts our expectation.
Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back.
In a pivotal scene Darth Vader reveals to Luke Skywalker that he is his father.
This totally takes the audience and Luke (the protagonist) by surprise.
A man jumps over a giant waterfall like Niagara Falls in a barrel and survives, only to take a clean-up shower where he slips on the soap and dies from trauma.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, an actor famous for his violence in film, campaigning against violence in video games in general - which ironically includes those featuring his own characters.
An anti-technology website.

5. Situational Irony cont.
Rapper Ice-T, once famous for his “Cop Killer” album, now plays a cop on Law & Order: SVU.
A fat personal trainer

6. Dramatic Irony
Dramatic Irony: There is a contradiction between what a character thinks and what the reader knows to be true.
In easier terms…the audience (you) knows what is going on, but the character thinks something completely different is happening.
Think of this as the “Jerry Springer” type of irony (I’ll tell you why in a second)

7. Dramatic Irony cont.
Talk shows contain numerous examples of dramatic irony!
Let’s pretend we’re watching Maury Povich.
A young man prepares to propose to his girlfriend. While she is backstage, he tells the audience his plans.
The young woman thinks she is on the show for a makeover.
When she comes out, she thinks she is getting a makeover, but the audience knows differently!

8. Dramatic Irony?
The story begins with us meeting an alien. This alien travels to earth and is immediately confused by things like cars. He thinks cars are people, and he is afraid the “people” want to hurt him. Dramatic irony?

9. Dramatic Irony?
YES!!!!!!!!!
The audience knows exactly what cars are, and they probably find the alien’s assumptions humorous

10. Dramatic Irony?
We meet a young lady in a movie who is totally in love with her boyfriend. We know that her boyfriend is cheating on her, but the young lady does not. Dramatic irony?

11. The audience knows the situation, but the character does not!
Dramatic Irony?
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!
The audience knows the situation, but the character does not!