Ironical

Once I said to my friend, ‘People debate a lot about the definition of Irony.’ He replied, ‘You think so? I doubt it—’ and we ended up debating about Irony’s definition.

Irony itself is ironic; it sounds like iron: rigid, meaning exactly what has been said or predicted but it means the opposite of what is said, expected and meant. More Precisely, it means a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often wryly amusing as a result. For example, the absence of John in the award function in which he was to be awarded ‘Full Attendance’ trophy—this is a situational Irony; calling a stupid person a genius—this is a verbal irony; and the affair of Chandler and Monica which audience knew but not the other characters in the FRIENDS series is a dramatic Irony.

Situational Irony is a contrast on what was expected and what happened. Situational Ironies are amusing since they provide a different picture than that of anticipated. It usually is a surprise. For example, parents being satisfied with exam-results, finding a non-nagging girlfriend, or citing examples that don’t fall into this category. However, Situational Ironies are often misunderstood, to exemplify, a person falling down while walking on a banana peel might be hilarious, but it isn’t ironical; since, it is expected and happens most of the times. However, a person who is eating a banana when slips down due to a banana peel while walking might be a Situational Irony. 

Verbal Irony means to say something but mean opposite mostly to express hatred, mockery, anxiety or other hard-feelings. A person saying ‘What a beautiful weather!’ may mean it; however, if, with a frowned face, and anxious voice, he may be expressing his hatred—this is verbal Irony. Verbal Irony depends on the use of expression and feelings of the interlocutor. A text such as ‘You are so innocent!’ from your ex may be verbal Irony; however, it depends on how much well you knew your partner. There is a similarity between Sarcasm and Verbal Irony. Every Sarcasm is a verbal Irony, but not vice-versa. Sarcasm lies within the boundaries of verbal irony. A moral hurtful, direct, and delirious kind of verbal irony used mainly as a mockery is a Sarcasm. A laughing emoji with ‘You are so innocent’ is one of the examples.

Now, the third kind of Irony—Dramatic Irony. These ironies are used in movies, series, novels, stories to create and keep the tension and interest among the audience. A character in a story unknown of his mother being a ghost, but audience knowing it—is a dramatic irony. In this irony, the audience already knows the plot, but the protagonist doesn’t; this keeps the audience on the edge of the seat as they are eager to see the reaction of the protagonist when he figures out. If you have watched the FRIENDS, you would know the tension and misunderstanding that was around when Monica and Chandler had affair and nobody knew about it, but the audience did, and that was fun seeing the way it unfolded.

We use these ironies often. We knowingly and unknowingly become a part of this. It is better to know what we are being part of. I hope this blog helped you to give an insight of Irony, if it didn’t, consider this blog: Ironical.