Introduction notes on the three types of irony: verbal, situational, and dramatic (goes along with the teaching of Oedipus Rex)

2. Three types
 Verbal irony
 Situational irony
 Dramatic irony

3. Verbal Irony
 The use of words to mean something different from
what a person actually says
 It is used by the speaker intentionally
 It occurs in a conversation where a person aims to be
understood as meaning something different to what
his or her words literally mean.

4. Examples of Verbal Irony
 “Great, someone stained my new dress.”
 “Thanks for the ticket officer, you just made my day!”
 “I can’t wait to read the seven hundred page report.”
 Overstatement or Understatement
 *Sarcasm – used to insult or to cause harm

5. Situational Irony
 Occurs when the exact opposite of what is meant to
happen, happens
 Involves a discrepancy between what is expected to
happen and what actually happens

6. Example of Situational Irony
 When someone buys a gun to protect themselves, but
the same gun is used by another individual to injure
him.
 The expectation was the gun would keep him safe.
 But it actually caused him injury
*There is a difference between situational irony and bad
luck.
 For this irony to occur there has to be something that
leads the person to think that a particular even or
situation is unlikely to happen.

7. Dramatic Irony
 When the audience is aware of something that the
characters in the story are not aware of.
 Three stages:
 Installation: audience is informed of something the
character does not know about.
 Exploitation: using this information to develop curiosity
among the audience
 Resolution: what happens when the character finally
finds out what is going on

8. Special Category of D I
 Tragic irony
 When a character in a play does or says something that
communicates a meaning unknown to him or her but
recognized by the audience.

9. Examples of Dramatic Irony
 Think of tv shows or movies… where a detective does
not know that the criminal responsible for the crime is
actually his partner. The audience however is already
aware of this fact and waits anxiously to know what
will happen once the character finds out the truth.
 Ex of Tragic Irony:
 When a character orders poisoned food that is supposed
to kill him or her and the audience already knows that
the character is destined to die from food poisoning.

10. Strong Answer Format/Oedipus
 Using what you have learned about irony, answer the
following question:
 What has been ironic in Oedipus Rex? Give examples
from the play.
Answer the question
Cite evidence to support your answer (give example/s)
Explain how your examples prove your answer.