Verbal irony

Why would someone use verbal irony? What is the literary term for verbal irony? Verbal Irony Definition of Verbal Irony.

In Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Biography, Snicket offers up a great use of verbal irony ,. For example: a man may say loudly to a manifestly unattractive woman, “You are more than beautiful!

This guy is obviously a jerk. An ironic statement usually involves the explicit expression of one attitude or evaluation, but with indications in the overall speech-situation that the speaker intends a very different, and often opposite, attitude or evaluation. The irony is within the words themselves without regard to the events of the story.

You use it to express something which is very mean or to make fun of your friend or to express your dissatisfaction regarding something. Again and again he tried after the tempting morsel,. The speaker intends to be understood as meaning something that contrasts with the literal or usual meaning of what he says. The different sorts of discrepancy between the meaning of what is said and what is in fact on the particular occasion meant with it give rise to different kinds of verbal irony : In sarcasm , the two stand in opposition.

Therefore, for the most part, verbal irony is about meaning the opposite of what you say, so although such comments can be sarcastic, they are not as explicit or as hurtful as direct sarcasm usually is.

For example, a character stepping out into a hurricane and saying, “What nice weather we’re having! The term “ironic” comes from the Latin word ironia, which means “feigned ignorance. The three main types of irony used in literature are dramatic, situational, and verbal.

Dramatic Irony : When the audience is more aware of what is happening than a character. Some examples are: the on duty police man was. Situational irony is when the opposite occurs than what you expect to happen. A lie is a falsehood meant to deceive. In sarcasm, the speaker says the opposite of what he or she means in order to show contempt or mock.

Overstatement or exaggeration. A really good example of this (and one that you have probably heard). The thir and debate use of irony regards what’s called situational irony. He took a much-needed vacation, backpacking in the mountains. His friend’s hand was as soft as a rock.

The desert was as cool as a bed of burning coals. The student was given ‘excellent’ on getting zero in the exam. The most recognizable form of verbal irony is sarcasm, where the speaker says the opposite of what they mean, often for comedic effect.

Dramatic irony is when a character believes something and the opposite is true.

Shakespeare’s use of irony in Othello has a great impact on the play. The audience knows that the character is working under false beliefs.