All 22 Uses of
irony
in
The Brothers Karamazov
- "Oh, the irony of fate!" cried Mitya, and, quite losing his head, he fell again to rousing the tipsy peasant.
Chpt 8 *irony = when what happens is very different than what might be expected; or when things are together
- And a pliable imagination persuaded her, we must suppose, for a brief moment, that Fyodor Pavlovitch, in spite of his parasitic position, was one of the bold and ironical spirits of that progressive epoch, though he was, in fact, an ill-natured buffoon and nothing more.†
Chpt 1
- Besides the long fleshy bags under his little, always insolent, suspicious, and ironical eyes; besides the multitude of deep wrinkles in his little fat face, the Adam's apple hung below his sharp chin like a great, fleshy goiter, which gave him a peculiar, repulsive, sensual appearance; add to that a long rapacious mouth with full lips, between which could be seen little stumps of black decayed teeth.†
Chpt 1
- He trembled for him, for his glory, and dreaded any affront to him, especially the refined, courteous irony of Miuesov and the supercilious half-utterances of the highly educated Ivan.†
Chpt 1
- His liberal irony was rapidly changing almost into anger.†
Chpt 2
- Fyodor Pavlovitch, who had given his word to sit still and be quiet, had actually been quiet for some time, but he watched his neighbor Miuesov with an ironical little smile, obviously enjoying his discomfiture.†
Chpt 2
- This was unmistakably said with some malice and obviously with intention; even perhaps with no desire to conceal that he spoke ironically and with intention.†
Chpt 4
- Is he ironical, is he jesting?†
Chpt 5
- He fancied besides that his brother was looking at him ironically.†
Chpt 5
- Receiving this amiable greeting, he stood still in silence and with an ironical air watched his son going upstairs, till he passed out of sight.†
Chpt 5
- There were two of us, my elder brother Markel and I. He was eight years older than I was, of hasty irritable temperament, but kind-hearted and never ironical.†
Chpt 6
- "What's the matter?" he went on; but the surprise in his face gradually passed into a smile that became more and more ironical.†
Chpt 7
- But all their efforts had been in vain and some of these suitors had been forced to beat an undignified and even comic retreat, owing to the firm and ironical resistance they met from the strong-willed young person.†
Chpt 7
- But Rakitin looked at him ironically and Alyosha stopped short.†
Chpt 7
- "What next?" he asked ironically.†
Chpt 8
- Mitya turned upon him a look of profound irony and intense hatred.†
Chpt 9
- Buffoonery in them is a form of resentful irony against those to whom they daren't speak the truth, from having been for years humiliated and intimidated by them.†
Chpt 10
- Your eyes are yellow," Smerdyakov commented, without the least irony, with apparent sympathy in fact.†
Chpt 11
- And then that ironical tone a la Heine, eh?†
Chpt 11
- He is so in love with truth—" The visitor talked, obviously carried away by his own eloquence, speaking louder and louder and looking ironically at his host.†
Chpt 11
- "As to the opinion of my learned colleague," the Moscow doctor added ironically in conclusion, "that the prisoner would, on entering the court, have naturally looked at the ladies and not straight before him, I will only say that, apart from the playfulness of this theory, it is radically unsound.†
Chpt 12
- He only touched again, lightly and ironically, on "romancing" and "psychology," and in an appropriate place quoted, "Jupiter, you are angry, therefore you are wrong," which provoked a burst of approving laughter in the audience, for Ippolit Kirillovitch was by no means like Jupiter.†
Chpt 12
Definitions:
-
(1)
(irony as in: situational irony) when what happens is very different than what might be expected; or when things are together that seem like they don't belong together -- especially when amusing or an entertaining coincidenceThis is sometimes referred to as "situational irony." The term is especially appropriate when actions have consequences opposite to those intended.
The expression ironic smile, generally references someone smiling at situational irony.
All forms of irony involve the perception that things are not what they might seem. -
(2)
(irony as in: verbal irony) saying one thing, while meaning the opposite or something else -- usually as humor or sarcasm
(With this type of irony, it's not uncommon for the words to say one thing while the tone-of-voice and/or context says another.)This is sometimes referred to as "verbal irony."
All forms of irony involve the perception that things are not what they are said to be or what they might seem. -
(3)
(irony as in: dramatic irony) when the meaning of a situation is understood by one person, but not by another -- especially when a reader or audience knows what characters of a story do not (such as in the play, Romeo and Juliet)All forms of irony involve the perception that things are not what they are said to be or what they seem.
-
(4)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Less commonly, Socratic irony is where someone pretends ignorance to get another to think through a problem. This is named after the Socratic method of teaching.
Less commonly still, some also refer to romantic irony as when an author reminds the audience that the fictional words is the author's creation and will play out as the author desires.