Both Uses of
irony
in
Crediting Poetry by Seamus Heaney
- And I have to admit that there is indeed an irony that it was such a one who recorded and preserved this instance of the true beauty of the Irish heritage: Kevin's story, after all, appears in the writings of Giraldus Cambrensis, one of the Normans who invaded Ireland in the twelfth century, one whom the Irish-language annalist Geoffrey Keating would call, five hundred years later, "the bull of the herd of those who wrote the false history of Ireland.†
*
- The poet was living then in a Norman tower which had been very much a part of the military history of the country in earlier and equally troubled times, and as his thoughts turned upon the irony of civilizations being consolidated by violent and powerful conquerors who end up commissioning the artists and the architects, he began to associate the sight of a mother bird feeding its young with the image of the honey bee, an image deeply lodged in poetic tradition and always suggestive of…†
Definition:
-
(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 coincidenceeditor's notes: This is sometimes referred to as "situational irony." The term is especially appropriate when actions have consequences opposite to those intended.
Situational irony can be poignant, humorous, or unusual in juxtaposition. It can be subtle. For example, a novel can bring to mind a famous work of literature that leads the reader expect a certain pattern. Then the writer can turn the pattern on its head.
The expression ironic smile, generally references someone who is smiling (or often smiles) at situational irony.
All forms of irony involve the perception that things are not what they might seem.