example literary analysis irony

What Is Irony? Definition, Usage, and Literary Examples

Irony definition.

Irony  (EYE-run-ee) is a literary device in which a word or event means something different—and often contradictory—to its actual meaning. At its most fundamental, irony is a difference between reality and something’s appearance or expectation, creating a natural tension when presented in the  context  of a story. In recent years, irony has taken on an additional meaning, referring to a situation or joke that is subversive in nature; the fact that the term has come to mean something different than what it actually does is, in itself, ironic.

The history of the word points to its somewhat deceptive nature. It comes from the Ancient Greek  eiron , meaning a stock character in early theatrical productions who feigns ignorance to fool someone else.

Types of Irony

When someone uses irony, it is typically in one of the three ways: verbal, situational, or dramatic.

Verbal Irony

In this form of irony, the speaker says something that differs from—and is usually in opposition with—the real meaning of the word(s) they’ve used. Take, for example, Edgar Allan Poe’s short story  “The Cask of Amontillado.”  As Montresor encloses Fortunato into the catacombs’ walls, he mocks Fortunato’s plea—”For the love of God, Montresor!”—by replying, “Yes, for the love of God!” Poe uses this to underscore how Montresor’s actions are anything but loving or humane—thus, far from God.

Situational Irony

This occurs when there is a difference between the intention of a specific situation and its result. The result is often unexpected or contrary to a person’s goal. The entire  plot  of L. Frank Baum’s  The Wonderful Wizard of Oz  hinges on situational irony. Dorothy and her friends spend the story trying to reach the Wizard so Dorothy can find a way back home, but in the end, the Wizard informs her that she had the power and knowledge to return home all along.

Dramatic Irony

Here, there is a disparity in how a character understands a situation and how the audience understands it. In Henrik Ibsen’s play  A Doll’s House , the married Nora excitedly anticipates the day when she’ll be able to repay Krogstad, who illegally lent her money. She imagines a future “free from care,” but the audience understands that, because Nora must continue to lie to her husband about the loan, she will never be free.

Not all irony adheres perfectly to one of these definitions. In some cases, irony is simply irony, where something’s appearance on the surface is substantially different from the truth.

Irony vs. Coincidence

Irony is often confused with coincidence. Though there is some overlap between the two terms, they are not the same thing. Coincidence describes two or more unlikely activities that share unexplainable similarities. It is often confused with situational irony. For example, finding out a friend you made in adulthood went to your high school is a coincidence, not an ironic event. Additionally, coincidence isn’t classifiable by type.

Irony, on the other hand, has a much starker and more substantial disparity between intention and result, with the result often the direct opposite of the intention. For example, the fact that the word  lisp  is ironic, considering it refers to an inability to properly pronounce  s  sounds but itself contains an  s .

The Functions of Irony

How an author uses irony depends on their intentions and the story or scene’s larger  context . In much of literature, irony highlights a larger point the author is making—often a commentary on the inherent difficulties and messiness of human existence.

With verbal irony, a writer can demonstrate a character’s intelligence, wit, or snark—or, as in the case of “ The Cask of Amontillado ,” a character’s unmitigated evil. It is primarily used in dialogue and rarely offers up any insight into the plot or meaning of a story.

With dramatic irony, a writer illustrates that knowledge is always a work in progress. It reiterates that people rarely have all the answers in life and can easily be wrong when they don’t have the right information. By giving readers knowledge the characters do not have, dramatic irony keeps readers engaged in the story; they want to see if and when the characters learn this information.

Finally, situational irony is a statement on how random and unpredictable life can be. It showcases how things can change in the blink of an eye and in bigger ways than one ever anticipated. It also points out how humans are at the mercy of unexplained forces, be they spiritual, rational, or matters of pure chance.

Irony as a Function of Sarcasm and Satire

Satire and  sarcasm  often utilize irony to amplify the point made by the speaker.

Sarcasm is a rancorous or stinging expression that disparages or taunts its subject. Thus, it usually possesses a certain amount of irony. Because inflection conveys sarcasm more clearly, saying a sarcastic remark out loud helps make the true meaning known. If someone says “Boy, the weather sure is beautiful today” when it is dark and storming, they’re making a sarcastic remark. This statement is also an example of verbal irony because the speaker is saying something in direct opposition to reality. But an expression doesn’t necessarily need to be verbal to communicate its sarcastic nature. If the previous example appeared in a written work, the application of italics would emphasize to the reader that the speaker’s use of the word  beautiful  is suspect. To further clarify, the remark would closely precede or follow a description of the day’s unappealing weather.

Satire is an entire work that critiques the behavior of specific individuals, institutions, or societies through outsized humor. Satire normally possesses both irony and sarcasm to further underscore the illogicality or ridiculousness of the targeted subject. Satire has a long history in literature and popular culture. The first known satirical work, “The Satire of the Trades,” dates back to the second millennium BCE. It discusses a variety of trades in an exaggerated, negative light, while presenting the trade of writer as one of great honor and nobility.  Shakespeare  famously satirized the cultural and societal norms of his time in many of his plays. In 21st-century pop culture,  The Colbert Report  was a political satire show, in which host Stephen Colbert played an over-the-top conservative political commentator. By embodying the characteristics—including vocal qualities—and beliefs of a stereotypical pundit, Colbert skewered political norms through abundant use of verbal irony. This is also an example of situational irony, as the audience knew Colbert, in reality, disagreed with the kind of ideas he was espousing.

Uses of Irony in Popular Culture

Popular culture has countless examples of irony.

One of the most predominant, contemporary references, Alanis Morissette’s hit song “Ironic” generated much controversy and debate around what, exactly, constitutes irony. In the song, Morissette sings about a variety of unfortunate situations, like rainy weather on the day of a wedding, finding a fly floating in a class of wine, and a death row inmate being pardoned minutes after they were killed. Morissette follows these lines with the question, “Isn’t it ironic?” In reality, none of these situations is ironic, at least not according to the traditional meaning of the word. These situations are coincidental, frustrating, or plain bad luck, but they aren’t ironic. The intended meaning of these examples is not disparate from their actual meanings. For instance, another line claims that having “ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife” is ironic. This would only be ironic, if, say, the person being addressed made knives for a living. Morissette herself has acknowledged the debate and asserted that the song itself is ironic because none of the things she sings about are ironic at all.

Pixar/Disney’s movie  Monsters, Inc.  is an example of situational irony. In the world of this movie, monsters go into the human realm to scare children and harvest their screams. But, when a little girl enters the monster world, it’s revealed that the monsters are actually terrified of children. There are also moments of dramatic irony. As protagonist Sully and Mike try to hide the girl’s presence, she instigates many mishaps that amuse the audience because they know she’s there but other characters have no idea.

In the iconic television show  Breaking Bad , DEA agent Hank Schrader hunts for the elusive drug kingpin known as Heisenberg. But what Hank doesn’t know is that Heisenberg is really Walter White, Hank’s brother-in-law. This is a perfect example of dramatic irony because the viewers are aware of Walter’s secret identity from the moment he adopts it.

Examples of Irony in Literature

1. Jonathan Swift,  “A Modest Proposal”

Swift’s 1729 essay is a satire rich in verbal ironies. Under the guise of a serious adviser, Swift suggests a way that poor Irish communities can improve their lot in life: selling their children to rich people. He even goes a step further with his advice:

I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout.

Obviously, Swift does not intend for anyone to sell or eat children. He uses verbal ironies to illuminate class divisions, specifically many Britons’ attitudes toward the Irish and the way the wealthy disregard the needs of the poor.

2. William Shakespeare,  Titus Andronicus

This epic Shakespeare tragedy is brutal, bloody, farcical, and dramatically ironic. It concerns the savage revenge exacted by General Titus on those who wronged him. His plans for revenge involve Tamora, Queen of the Goths, who is exacting her own vengeance for the wrongs she feels her sons have suffered. The audience knows from the outset what these characters previously endured and thus understand the true motivations of Titus and Tamora.

In perhaps the most famous scene, and likely one of literature’s most wicked dramatic ironies, Titus slays Tamora’s two cherished sons, grinds them up, and bakes them into a pie. He then serves the pie to Tamora and all the guests attending a feast at his house. After revealing the truth, Titus kills Tamora—then the emperor’s son, Saturninus, kills Titus, then Titus’s son Lucius kills Saturninus and so on.

3. O. Henry,  “The Gift of the Magi”

In this short story, a young married couple is strapped for money and tries to come up with acceptable Christmas gifts to exchange. Della, the wife, sells her hair to get the money to buy her husband Jim a watchband. Jim, however, sells his watch to buy Della a set of combs. This is a poignant instance of situational irony, the meaning of which O. Henry accentuates by writing that, although “[e]ach sold the most valuable thing he owned in order to buy a gift for the other,” they were truly “the wise ones.” That final phrase compares the couple to the biblical Magi who brought gifts to baby Jesus, whose birthday anecdotally falls on Christmas Day.

4. Margaret Atwood,  The Handmaid’s Tale

Atwood’s dystopian novel takes place in a not-too-distant America. Now known as Gilead, it is an isolated and insular country run by a theocratic government. Since an epidemic left many women infertile, the government enslaves those still able to conceive and assigns them as handmaids to carry children for rich and powerful men. If a handmaid and a Commander conceive, the handmaid must give the child over to the care of the Commander and his wife. Then, the handmaid is reassigned to another “post.”

A primary character in the story is Serena Joy, a Commander’s wife. In one of the book’s many ironic instances, it is revealed that Serena, in her pre-Gilead days, was a fierce advocate for a more conservative society. Though she now has the society she fought for, women—even Commanders’ wives—have few rights. Thus, she ironically suffers from the very reforms she spearheaded.

Further Resources on Irony

The Writer  has  an article  about writing and understanding irony in fiction.

Penlighten ‘s detailed  list of irony examples  includes works mainly from classic literature.

Publishing Crawl  offers  five ways to incorporate dramatic irony into your writing .

Harvard Library has an in-depth breakdown of  the evolution of irony in postmodern literature .

TV Tropes  is  a comprehensive resource for irony  in everything from literature and anime to television and movies.

Related Terms

Verbal Irony

Verbal Irony Definition

What is verbal irony? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging outside and someone remarks "what lovely weather we're having," this is an example of verbal irony.

Some additional key details about verbal irony:

• Sometimes the ironic speaker's intended meaning is clear to the listener, and sometimes it isn't. Verbal irony typically depends on context, as well as the speaker's tone and the listener's attentiveness or prior experience.
• In a literary work, however, the audience generally has enough information to understand when a character is using verbal irony.
• Verbal irony can never be accidental. It depends on the speaker's intent. If the speaker doesn't mean to be irony, then they aren't using verbal irony.

Verbal Irony Pronunciation

Here's how to pronounce verbal irony: vur -bull eye -run-ee

The Origins of Irony

Verbal irony first came into use thousands of years ago, in Ancient Greece. The word "irony" comes from the Greek word eiron , a stock character in ancient Greek comedy who feigns stupidity in order to deceive and defeat the alazon , an incompetent show-off. Both characters pretend to be something other than what they are: the eiron is not actually stupid, while the alazon is not actually capable. This contrast between "what seems to be" and "what is" is the root of all the different kinds of irony .

Stable and Unstable Irony

When someone says "My, what lovely weather we're having" on an awful, rainy day, her actual meaning is clear: she means just the opposite of what she says. When the actual meaning of an ironic statement is clear, it is called stable irony.

But an ironic speaker does not always mean the exact opposite of what they say, and sometimes the true meaning of their words remains obscure. Cases such as these are referred to as unstable irony. For instance, if you were standing in an elevator when a stranger turned to you and said in a deadpan tone, "I'm on fire," when in fact they were not on fire, it would be immediately clear to you that they didn't mean what they were saying literally. But it probably wouldn't be clear to you exactly what they did mean. (Is the person feeling itchy? Are they making a killing in the stock market? Is it too hot out?) In an example like this, it's clear that the speaker doesn't mean what they're saying literally, but what they do mean is unclear.

So to sum up the difference between stable and unstable verbal irony:

• Stable irony refers to irony that has a clear alternate meaning (other than the literal meaning of what's said).
• Unstable irony does not offer a clear alternative meaning. This makes it confusing, and so it is often seen as less effective than stable irony.

Verbal Irony, Overstatement, and Understatement

Two of the most common tactics of verbal irony are to use overstatement or understatement.

• In understatement, the speaker says something that downplays a situation in order to actually highlight its magnitude. For instance, a person looking at a great white shark might say, "What a cute little fish!" The understatement actually emphasizes just how big and un-cute the shark is.
• In overstatement, the speaker exaggerates a situation, once again to highlight its opposite. If two people desperately need money and find a quarter on the street, one might ironically say, "We're rich!"

Verbal Irony and Sarcasm

Verbal irony is often confused with the term sarcasm. But there are important differences between the two.

• Sarcasm involves the use of language to mean something other than its literal meaning, but always with the intention to mock or criticize someone or something.
• Verbal irony , while involving non-literal meaning of language, does not have to involve mockery or criticism.

Put another way: sarcasm is a specific form of verbal irony. When someone laughs at a person wearing a fanny pack and says "Nice fanny pack, nerd," that's sarcasm—but it's also verbal irony, since what they really mean is something like "Your fanny pack looks dumb." Not all examples of verbal irony are examples of sarcasm, but all examples of sarcasm are ironic.

Verbal Irony Examples

Most people can probably think of times they've heard verbal irony employed in everyday conversation, but it also appears frequently in literature, television, and various forms of political satire.

Verbal Irony Examples in Literature

Verbal irony in oscar wilde's an ideal husband.

Oscar Wilde frequently spoke in ironic aphorism, and so did his characters. In his play An Ideal Husband , the fashionable and foppish Lord Goring says:

Oh! I am not at all romantic. I am not old enough. I leave romance to my seniors.

His quip is an example of subtle verbal irony. Goring implies that the idea of "romance" is boring and staid, only suited to elderly people, and that true romance lies elsewhere. The irony of the phrase depends on understanding that Goring is, in fact, a hopeless romantic—always flirting, always concerned with his appearance, and always entangled in some overcomplicated love affair. When his words are taken in context, it becomes clear that Goring really means the opposite of what he says: he says "I am not romantic" but he really means "I am a true romantic."

Verbal Irony in George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion

Professor Higgins, from Pygmalion , is another character that often uses verbal irony. In one scene, Higgins's housekeeper asks him not to swear, and he replies indignantly:

"I swear! I never swear. I detest the habit. What the devil do you mean?"

The reply is clearly ironic, because Higgins claims to hate swearing, but then immediately swears with obvious relish.

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

A subtler example of verbal irony comes from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice , which begins with the sentence:

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

The sentence is ironic because its speaker claims to believe that all wealthy single men must be looking for wives, but the book then goes on to describe just the opposite: it's about eligible young women looking to marry wealthy single men. The implication (which may not be clear until later in the novel) is that this "universally acknowledged" truth proves not to be supported by real experience.

Verbal Irony on Television

One of the most ironic characters on TV is the star of an MTV show from the '90s called Daria . It is rare to find a moment when Daria isn't being ironic. Below is an excerpt from a dialogue between Daria and her art teacher:

Ms. Defoe: Good work, Daria. Your cube is bursting out of the picture plane. You've really created the illusion of depth. Daria: I'm thinking of going into politics.

Daria's response is ironic because she obviously has no desire to go into politics. Her comment is also satirical because she likens politics to an art of illusion-making.

Another famous ironic character is Hawkeye Pierce from the show M*A*S*H. Like Daria, he rarely says what he means. Take the following dialogue as an example:

Henry: Pierce, are you scared? Hawkeye: Don't be silly. I'm too frightened to be scared.

Hawkeye's retort is ironic because he claims not to be scared, but means just the opposite.

Verbal Irony in Political Satire

Shows like Comedy Central's The Colbert Report , magazine columns like The New Yorker's Borowitz Report, and satirical news websites like The Onion frequently use irony to criticize politics and culture.

One of the Onion's favorite strategies is to exaggerate a real cultural or political tendency to an extreme that reveals its stupidity or cruelty; in other words, an article will make a claim whose obvious absurdity lets the reader know that the author believes something quite different. Take the following Onion headline from December of 1995:

"Clinton Deploys Vowels to Bosnia; Cities of Sjlbvdnzv, Grzny to Be First Recipients"

The article goes on to praise Bill Clinton for sending "the critically needed letters A, E, I, O, and U" to a country in the midst of a humanitarian crisis. In fact, the writers are bitterly mocking the Clinton administration for offering insufficient aid to dying people.

Why Do Writers Use Verbal Irony?

Verbal irony is a device that can be used for almost any purpose. Writers use irony:

• To make the reader laugh.
• To point out contradictions, hypocrisies, or absurdities of all kinds.
• To imply a meaning beyond the literal meaning that only some other people will notice or understand.
• To undermine the significance of or poke fun at an overused word or phrase.

Verbal irony always requires some interpretation on the reader's part, since the non-literal meaning of what's been said has to be inferred based on context, so irony could be said to involve a certain level of "audience participation"—a fact which adds to the element of entertainment. In other words, verbal irony is often delivered with a figurative "wink and a nod" that suggest, "I know you understand what I mean."

Like all kinds of irony, verbal irony rides on the tension between appearances and reality, and so it can also serve to highlight differences in the perspectives of different people and characters.

Other Helpful Verbal Irony Resources

• The Basic Definition of verbal irony.
• The Wikipedia entry on Verbal Irony: A somewhat technical explanation that provides some basic examples.
• A brief, helpful video that explains what verbal irony is and gives a few examples.
• A list of the best news articles from the Onion, many of which include examples of irony.

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I. What is Irony?

Irony (pronounced ‘eye-run-ee’) is when there are two contradicting meanings of the same situation, event, image, sentence, phrase, or story.  In many cases, this refers to the difference between expectations and reality.

For example, if you go sight-seeing anywhere in the world today, you will see crowds of people who are so busy taking cell-phone pictures of themselves in front of the sight that they don’t actually look at what they came to see with their own eyes.  This is ironic, specifically, situational irony . This one situation has two opposing meanings that contradict expectations: (1) going to see a sight and prove that you were there (2) not enjoying the thing you went to see.

Irony is often used for critical or humorous effect in literature, music, art, and film (or a lesson).  In conversation, people often use verbal irony to express humor, affection, or emotion, by saying the opposite of what they mean to somebody who is expected to recognize the irony.  “I hate you” can mean “I love you”—but only if the person you’re saying it to already knows that! This definition is, of course, related to the first one (as we expect people’s words to reflect their meaning) and in most cases, it can be considered a form of sarcasm.

II. Examples of Irony

A popular visual representation of irony shows a seagull sitting on top of a “no seagulls” sign. The meaning of the sign is that seagulls are not allowed in the area.  The seagull sitting on the sign not only contradicts it, but calls attention to the absurdity of trying to dictate where seagulls may or may not go, which makes us laugh.

Another example is a staircase leading up to a fitness center, with an escalator running alongside it. All the gym patrons are using the escalator and no one is on the stairs. Given that this is a fitness center, we’d expect that everyone should be dedicated to health and exercise, and so they would use the free exercise offered by the stairs. But instead, they flock to the comfort of the escalator, in spite of the fact that they’ve come all this way just to exercise. Once again, our expectations are violated and the result is irony and humor.

Aleister Crowley, a famous English mystic of the early twentieth century, who taught that a person could do anything if they mastered their own mind, died of heroin addiction. This is ironic because the way he died completely contradicts what he taught.

III. The Importance of Irony

The most common purpose of irony is to create humor and/or point out the absurdity of life. As in the all of the examples above, life has a way of contradicting our expectations, often in painful ways. Irony generally makes us laugh, even when the circumstances are tragic, such as in Aleister Crowley’s failure to beat his addiction. We laugh not because the situations were tragic, but because they violate our expectations.  The contrast between people’s expectations and the reality of the situations is not only funny, but also meaningful because it calls our attention to how wrong human beings can be.  Irony is best when it points us towards deeper meanings of a situation.

IV. Examples of Irony in Literature

In O. Henry’s famous short story The Gift of the Magi , a husband sells his prized watch so that he can buy combs as a gift for his wife. Meanwhile, the wife sells her beautiful hair so she can buy a watch-chain for her husband. The characters ’ actions contradict each other’s expectations and their efforts to give each other gifts make the gifts useless.

Edgar Allen Poe’s The Cask of Amantillado is full of verbal and situational irony, including the name of the main character. He’s called Fortunato (Italian for “fortunate”), in spite of the fact that he’s extremely unlucky throughout the story.

Water, water everywhere, nor any a drop to drink.

This line from Samuel Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” describes the dark irony of a sailor dying of thirst on his boat while he is surrounded by water.

V. Examples of Irony in Pop Culture

Alannis Morisette’s popular song “Ironic” contains such lyrics as:

Rain on your wedding day A free ride when you’ve already paid Good advice that you just didn’t take

These are not examples of irony . They’re just unfortunate coincidences. However, the fact that her song is called “Ironic” and yet has such unironic lyrics is itself ironic. The title contradicts the lyrics of the song. It isn’t, so your expectations are violated.

In Disney’s Aladdin , Aladdin wishes for riches and power so that he can earn the right to marry Princess Jasmine. Thanks to the genie’s magic, he gets all the wealth he could ask for and parades through the streets as a prince. But, ironically, this makes him unattractive to the princess and he finds himself further away from his goal than he was as a poor beggar. In this case, it’s the contrast between Aladdin’s expectations and results which are ironic.

Related terms

Sarcasm is a kind of verbal irony that has a biting or critical tone, although it can be used to express affection between friends It is one of the most common forms of irony in fiction and in real life. We’ve all heard people use verbal irony to mock, insult, or poke fun at someone or something. For example, here’s a famous sarcastic line from The Princess Bride :

Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.

In the scene, Wesley is insulting the intelligence of Vizzini the Sicilian using verbal irony (the word “truly” makes it even more ironic, since Wesley is reassuring Vizzini of the truth of an untrue statement). The line is both ironic and mean, and therefore it’s sarcastic . One needs to be a little careful with sarcasm, since you can easily hurt people’s feelings or make them angry.

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