CLICK HERE TO SEE LITERARY NOTES ON THE OTHER LITERARY TERMS.
IRONY LITERARY DEVICE
The term irony has its root far back in the history of Greek Comedy. In that comedy there used to be a character called the ‘eiron‘ means a dissembler. He would speak ironically and deliberately pretended to be less intelligent than he was and at the end of the play would triumph over the alazon, a stupid braggart.
However, the normal meaning of irony can be the difference between what is asserted and what actually the case is. Thus, in other words irony is a form of speech in which the actual intent is expressed in words that carry the opposite meaning. In Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar“, Antony, after the death of Julius Caesar insists on the statement that “Brutus is an honourable man“. He knows it very well that Brutus is responsible for the death of Julius but openly he is not able to say so. Thus, he employs irony. He repeats the allegations made by the opponents of Caesar on him but at the same time he cleverly defies all of them without pointing out at Brutus directly. He continuously repeats one statement in contrast of the statement made by Brutus in his speech. His dialogue “Brutus is an honourable man” is the best example to prove the irony behind the statement. Thus, it can be said that irony uses words of praise to imply blame and words of blame to imply praise. Oliver Goldsmith, Jane Austin and William Makepeace Thackeray frequently used irony.
Irony also plays an important role in dramas. In drama often the words of a character in a play carry a meaning unknown to him but understood by the audience. The dramatic irony lies in the contrast between the meaning intended by the speaker and the added significance of which the audience is aware. Sometimes the term is extended to include any situation like mistaken identity in which one or more of the characters are ignorant of facts known to the spectator. The drama, “Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde deals with the theme of mistaken identity.
Pingback: Lyric literary term: Meaning and Examples - Study With MSA