What is Irony? - situational, verbal, and dramatic forms

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What is Irony

What is irony? It is hard to discuss irony without first discussing the 3 types of irony, and these are situational, verbal, and dramatic irony. Each is similar yet different from the others in that all has something that is unexpected happen, but each will carry these unexpected happenings out in a different manner. Verbal irony creates something unexpected through the use of speech. Situational irony uses action or a situation to create the same effect. Dramatic irony has the audience or reader know the unexpected, yet the character itself has no clue of what will happen. Irony presents itself everywhere in life. The ones that are the least unexpected are the ones that makes us laugh, cry, or smile the most. These are also the ones that will always be remembered.

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        Verbal irony presents itself the most through a conversation with another person. It is impossible to have verbal irony without the use of speech from at least one person. Although verbal irony can cause different emotions, it often turns out to be a joke. For instance, stand-up comedians usually rely on verbal irony to induce laughter from the audience. A punch line is an example of a verbal irony for the audience will expect the comedian to finish his story in a conventional way, yet he will finish the his story with a line that no one had expected. If ...

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