All 8 Uses of
irony
in
Notes from the Underground
- There were moments of such positive intoxication, of such happiness, that there was not the faintest trace of irony within me, on my honour.
Chpt 2.2irony = saying one thing while meaning something else
- "Oh, poor fellow!" Zverkov cried ironically, for to his notions this was bound to be extremely funny.
Chpt 2.4 *ironically = saying one thing, while meaning the opposite
- with irony he will upbraid the short-sighted fools who do not understand their own interests, nor the true significance of virtue;†
Chpt 1.7
- I, for instance, would not be in the least surprised if all of a sudden, A PROPOS of nothing, in the midst of general prosperity a gentleman with an ignoble, or rather with a reactionary and ironical, countenance were to arise and, putting his arms akimbo, say to us all: "I say, gentleman, hadn't we better kick over the whole show and scatter rationalism to the winds, simply to send these logarithms to the devil, and to enable us to live once more at our own sweet foolish will!"†
Chpt 1.7
- Simonov looked at me ironically.†
Chpt 2.4
- "Why, you ...speak somehow like a book," she said, and again there was a note of irony in her voice.†
Chpt 2.6 *
- I did not understand that she was hiding her feelings under irony, that this is usually the last refuge of modest and chaste-souled people when the privacy of their soul is coarsely and intrusively invaded, and that their pride makes them refuse to surrender till the last moment and shrink from giving expression to their feelings before you.†
Chpt 2.6
- In his behaviour to me he was a perfect tyrant, he spoke very little to me, and if he chanced to glance at me he gave me a firm, majestically self-confident and invariably ironical look that drove me sometimes to fury.†
Chpt 2.8
Definitions:
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(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.
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(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.