All 4 Uses of
irony
in
Oryx and Crake
- Once in a while he'd come out with some hoary maxim, served up with a wry irony that did nothing to reduce the boredom quotient;
p. 42.0irony = saying one thing while meaning something else
- Stop snivelling, son, says his father's voice. Pull yourself together. You're the man around here.
"Right!" Snowman yells. "What exactly would you suggest? You were such a great example!"
But irony is lost on the trees.p. 162.9irony = saying one thing while meaning the opposite
- "So, you got a girlfriend?" ... "I mean, there's quite an array of babes to choose from." He meant this to be ironic. He couldn't picture ... Crake with one of them....
p. 207.2 *
- "You've got the answers?" said Jimmy. He'd come to enjoy needling them, because who were they to judge? The artists, who were not sensitized to irony, said that correct analysis was one thing but correct solutions were another, and the lack of the latter did not invalidate the former.
p. 243.1
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.