Dramatic Situational And Verbal Irony

The Three Types of Irony: Verbal, Situational and Dramatic

Irony is often misunderstood. And the fact there are three types doesn't aid! Only it is a useful tool in literary writing and may even ingather up in daily life, so it is worth understanding the differences betwixt the three primal types of irony:

Exact irony (i.e., using words in a non-literal way)
Situational irony (i.e., a deviation between the expected and actual outcomes of a situation or action)
Dramatic irony (i.e., an audience knowing something the characters don't)

Check out our guide below for more than on how these work. And if you're concerned nearly misusing the term "irony" in your writing, y'all can also take a wait at our post on using the word "ironic" correctly.

Exact Irony

Exact irony involves using words to mean the opposite of their literal definitions. Or, in simpler terms, exact irony is proverb one thing merely meaning the opposite. For instance, imagine someone maxim the following:

What a great twenty-four hour period: I crashed my machine and lost my winning lottery ticket!

Hither, the speaker is using "great" ironically. They've actually had a terrible 24-hour interval! But they say the reverse of what they hateful to draw attention to the departure between a "slap-up" day and the one they really had.

1 common class of verbal irony is sarcasm, where the speaker uses irony to mock or brand fun of something. Even so, not all verbal irony is sarcastic: irony is only sarcasm when the aim is to ridicule.

Situational Irony

Situational irony occurs when the result of a circumstance or activeness does non match our expectations. Recall virtually Aesop's fable of "The Tortoise and the Hare." Just similar the hare, at the beginning, we'd never look the tortoise to win the race because hares are much faster. The unexpected nature of the tortoise's eventual win emphasizes the moral of the story, that persistence and focus are important for success, or "deadening and steady wins the race."

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The_Tortoise_and_the_Hare_-_Project_Gutenberg_etext_19993 — Irony is the hare's true nemesis.

This type of irony allows writer to make a potent impression past subverting the reader'south expectations. It can be used but to shock or entertain, but it can also encourage an audition to reflect on a central theme.

Dramatic Irony

Dramatic irony is a structural device that involves the audience knowing something the characters are unaware of. This is often a key piece of information virtually a situation and its probable outcome.

This type of irony increases tension, makes the audience feel powerful (I know something they don't know!), and builds up anticipation. When will the truth finally be institute out? How volition the characters react?

A well-known literary example of dramatic irony is seen in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. (Spoilers ahead!) Romeo kills himself considering he believes Juliet is dead, when the audience knows that she is nigh to wake up.

Using Irony in Your Own Writing

If you're considering using irony in your writing, proceed these cardinal points in mind:

Irony involves things not being what they seem, so you can utilize it to entertain and surprise, only likewise to emphasize sure themes in a text.
It can be used to comic or tragic outcome.
Irony tin include a lot of things, from a few words used ironically to make a point to an overarching structural device that runs through a story.

As such, it is worth thinking about the three types of irony and which 1(s) you intend to use. And if you're working on some writing at the moment, remember that our skillful proofreaders are on hand 24/7 to help you make sure the final production is the best it tin be.