You are here:About>Entertainment>Contemporary Literature> Literary Terms> Irony
About.comContemporary Literature
Newsletters & RSSEmail to a friendSubmit to Digg

"Irony"

From Mark Flanagan,
Your Guide to Contemporary Literature.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!
Definition: Verbal irony is the use of language to express the opposite of its literal meaning. It is often the writer's expression of awareness of a contrast between what is and what ought to be and used for the purpose of mockery or jest. Situational Irony is the contrast between the intention or purpose of an action and its result.

More Literary Terms Defined
 
 
 All Topics | Email Article | | |
Advertising Info | News & Events | Work at About | SiteMap | Reprints | HelpOur Story | Be a Guide
User Agreement | Ethics Policy | Patent Info. | Privacy Policy©2008 About, Inc., A part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.