Irony is when, for example, someone says one thing but does the exact opposite.
^but not intentionally… it’s more like the opposition to a literal meaning.
@Dmarty
Yeah is that not verbal irony? There are three categories and that doesn’t fit the context of the quote. So did the author misuse ‘ironic’?
I think it’s more of a unfortunate (If you look at the government or police’s side) or fortunate (The man being talked about in the quote) rather than ironic.
vunista wrote:
@Dmarty
Yeah is that not verbal irony? There are three categories and that doesn’t fit the context of the quote. So did the author misuse ‘ironic’?
I think it’s more of an unfortunate (If you look at the government or police’s side) or fortunate (The man being talked about in the quote) rather than ironic.
I was just giving an example of irony…
Oh sorry it’s late here and I thought you were re-explaining verbal irony.
So basically irony = unintentional hypocrisy?
So if I told my friend not to smoke and forgot about it five years later and smoked that’d be ironic?
This is indeed situational irony. He got off free when it came to his real crimes, only to end up getting punished for something he was wrongly convicted of.
It’s hard to really define irony, just like it is hard to define, say, sarcasm.
But yes, you are correct.
If you read a lot, you’ll soon get a “feel” for it, and you’ll know that the situation is ironic without having to consciously think about it.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be about PREVENTING anything.
Have you read “The Gift of Magi” by O. Henry?
In that story, a young husband sells his watch to buy his wife a set of combs for Christmas, while the wife sells her long hair to buy a fob chain for her husband’s watch.
A perfect example of situational irony.
vunista wrote:
Oh sorry it’s late here and I thought you were re-explaining verbal irony.
So basically irony = unintentional hypocrisy?
So if I told my friend not to smoke and forgot about it five years later and smoked that’d be ironic?
Ya, it’s late where I am too.
You got the right idea, but what you described is more of a forgotten memory rather than an ironic situation. But you’re on the right track.
I’m confused. I looked up stuff like “Rain on your wedding day” would that then not be ironic since you don’t expect rain on your wedding day? And people said “Rain on your wedding day” is not ironic. But why not? If “Opposite of what is expected” is irony…man I’m getting confused. :c
@Sara I thought of it as ironical until I re-read it fifteen times and thought of my definition of irony. That something has to happen to prevent the latter event from happening or doing something but in return the event happens anyway despite the prior events course of action.
Is my definition in itself just an example of irony, a corner of it?
Oh sorry if my posts don’t seem to reply to your latest posts. I sometimes take awhile to post and by the time I do new posts have been made. so don’t think I’m ignoring anyone D;
@dmarty
So it’s more like worker saying to a kid “Don’t climb that ladder you’ll break your legs if you fall down!” and later the man climbs the ladder to do his job, falls down and breaks his legs?
“Rain on your wedding day” isn’t ironic. Do you know the song “Ironic”? Everything mentioned in the song isn’t ironic. The artist said that what WAS ironic about her song was the title… it was the exact opposite of what was mentioned in the song.
It’s ironical that you could see the irony until you applied the definition of irony to it.
Anonymous
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1 year, 4 months ago (39 minutes after post)
dmarty wrote:
“Rain on your wedding day” isn’t ironic. Do you know the song “Ironic”? Everything mentioned in the song isn’t ironic. The artist said that what WAS ironic about her song was the title… it was the exact opposite of what was mentioned in the song.
it’s ironic she sang that song :)
@dmarty But how? You don’t expect rain on your wedding day unless told otherwise. Would that not be considered ironical with the definition “Something occurring that was different from what was expected”
Why is it not ironical is what I probably should be asking.
By the way, I thank the both of you graciously for helping me.
Rain on your wedding day is a coincidence; not irony.
But I thought coincidence meant something, an event happening that was not expected. Doesn’t that also fit ironic’s definition of “an event occurring that was different from what was expected” different meaning not being expected?
Or is irony like coincidence except that what WASN’T expected HAS to be the opposite of what was while coincidence is like “A fiery lightning storm hailing babies from the sky upon the bride and groom” something that isn’t the opposite of what is expected?
But even then would rain on your wedding day still be ironic?
Sorry I’m such a pain in the butt, I’m just too curious for my own good. D;
No, don’t apologize. I’ve considered being an English teacher when I’m older, so this is good practice.
A coincidence is like, “OMG!! We have the same birthday!! What a coincidence!”
Okay, my example of irony is not going to be a happy one, but I used this in my short story I’m writing for my English class right now. Just to be clear, I didn’t make any of this up…it’s based on a true story. -The main character’s father is a motorcyclist who has a big afro and always wears his helmet when he drives his motorcycle. The main character describes his hair as “a lot of protection” and the helmet as “an extra layer of protection”… that’s quite a lot of protection. However, later in the story, she learns that her father is killed in a motorcycle accident. His helmet suffocated him and he died.- What’s ironic here is that what he wore to protect him actually ended up killing him.
Sorry if that was too much…
Ahh thank you, while I was waiting a reply I looked it up and got a nice result:
A coincidence is what you have when two things happen at nearly the same time, that appear to be related, but aren’t. For example, someone slams a door, and you trip and fall. Door slamming didn’t cause you to trip; just a coincidence.
Irony is something that makes you think “oh, weird twist!” Like the hangman stumbles at the gallows, and thus hangs himself by his own rope accidentally
Are these examples right?
And it wasn’t graphical, it helped me understand ironical situations better. Like coincidental events are more of apples and a giant boulder somehow coming together in an event that make them seem that they are both caused by one or the other when they aren’t. No relation what so ever. But the motorcyclist DID have something relatable. His helmet. It’s common amongst motorcyclist. And it was a twist.
So it’d be a coincidence if he died by a giant boulder falling on top of him? Since it’s entirely unrelatable to him and his motorcycle or actions?
I do hope you become a teacher, the fact that you are spending so much time on me to help me learn irony and even the difference between irony and coincidence is something a LOT of teachers need. You don’t know how many times I get brushed off by teachers because I ask too many questions. So I really hope you become one. (:
Thanks so much!! I get brushed-off by teachers a lot, too! (Coincidence). That’s kind of what inspired my decision to add teaching to my list of possible careers. My latest post is actually about being brushed by teachers.
What helps me with remembering what irony is is thinking of hypocrites… they’re like walking irony.
If he was crushed by a giant boulder, I would consider that… unexpected. Back to the birthday scenario, nothing caused the 2 to have the same birthday; they just do (in this case, they’re not twins). Idk if that makes any sense, though. If you need a different explanation or description, let me know.
I just realized I said, “brushed by teachers”… awkward. I meant “brushed-off by teachers”…
So coincidence is two things happening that didn’t cause each other to happen but were done at the same time or in this case with the birthdays, share something identical to something else.
Hmm. If you don’t mind could you give me another example?
I feel so thick skulled right now, like I SHOULD be getting this by now. Sometimes I over think things and it prevents me from seeing the pretty-much obvious differences.
I over-think things all the time and I have that same issue.
So a coincidence occurs when something accidental and unexpected happens at the same time/same event, but not under a defined relationship (like twins sharing a birthday, parents, etc.)
And no, I would not mind giving you another example. -You go to call your friend, but just before you hit the call button, your phone goes off and it’s your friend calling.- –Coincidence.
dmarty
Sara K