What is irony in literature?

What is irony in literature?

Four Types of Irony + Examples Irony is the contrast between how things seem and how they are. The term comes from the Latin word ironia, meaning “feigned ignorance.” Storytellers of all stripes use irony as a literary device to create tension, humor, or as the central conceit in a plot.

What is verbal irony?

In dialogue, verbal irony can display one character’s sparkling wit, and another character’s thickheadedness. Verbal irony can also create a connection between people who get the irony, excluding those who don’t.

What is the meaning of Sullivan’s irony?

Sullivan, whose real interest was, ironically, serious music, which he composed with varying degrees of success, achieved fame for his comic opera scores rather than for his more earnest efforts. The American Heritage Dictionary ‘s secondary meaning for irony: “incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs”.

Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition, don’t worry—it is. Irony is a broad term that encompasses three different types of irony, each with their own specific definition: verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony.

What is cosmic irony in literature?

The expression cosmic irony or “irony of fate” stems from the notion that the gods (or the Fates) are amusing themselves by toying with the minds of mortals with deliberate ironic intent. Closely connected with situational irony, it arises from sharp contrasts between reality and human ideals, or between human intentions and actual results.

What is plain common irony?

He wrote: “… if with deliberate intention something real and perceptible is brought directly under the concept of its opposite, the result is plain, common irony.