There are three main types of irony: verbal, situational, and dramatic. Verbal irony uses words to express something different than their literal meaning. Situational irony occurs when the actual outcome is opposite of what was expected. Dramatic irony is used in storytelling where the audience knows something characters do not, such as a character relying on deceitful people unknowingly. It creates curiosity in how the character will eventually discover the truth.

1. Irony
Is a kind of
figure of
speech; use of
words to
express the
opposite;
Is expected &
what actually
happens.
 There are Three
Types of Irony
 Verbal irony
 Situation irony
 Dramatic irony

2. Verbal Irony
Verbal irony is the use
of words to mean
something different
from what a person
actually says.

3. The main feature of verbal irony
that sets it apart from the other
different types of irony is that it is
used by a 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
include:
“Thanks for the ticket officer you
just made my day!”
“I can’t wait to read the seven
hundred page report.”
The above examples show how
irony is used to show someone’s
frustration or disappointment.

5. There are two types of verbal
irony:
Overstatement – when a person
exaggerates the character of
something.
Understatement – when a
person undermines the character
of something.

6. Verbal Irony and Sarcasm
Most of the time, sarcasm and verbal irony
are used interchangeably. There is however a
clear distinction between the two.
In most cases, sarcasm is used to insult or to
cause harm.
A statement like “Great, someone stained my
new dress.” is ironic, while “You call this a
work of art?” is sarcastic.
While verbal irony implies a different
meaning to what is actually said, sarcasm is
mainly used as a sharp and direct utterance
designed to cause pain.

7. Dramatic Irony
This type of irony is popular in
works of art such as movies,
books, poems and plays.
It occurs when the audience is
aware of something that the
characters in the story are not
aware of.

8. Situation Irony
It involves a discrepancy
between what is expected to
happen and what actually
happens.
Situation irony occurs when the
exact opposite of what is meant
to happen, happens.

9. Dramatic irony is a stylistic device
that is most commonly used by
storytellers, in plays, in the theater,
and in movies. The irony is used as a
plot device to create situations
where the reader knows much more
about the episodes and the
resolutions before the chief character
or characters.

10. For example, the reader may be
already aware that a character is
relying on deceitful characters, is
making suicidal decisions, or is
going to be killed, but the particular
character and some other characters
may not know these facts. The
actions and words of characters will
therefore mean different things

11. Situational irony occurs when the
final outcome is contradictory to
what was expected. Usually, the
episodes in the plot of a story will
lead the audience to expect a
particular resolution or ending. If
such an expected outcome fails and
instead another contrary outcome
occurs, the absurdity is termed
situational irony.

12. Such a form of irony is the result a
discrepancy in perspective, such
that what is known and expected at
one moment differs with what is
known later on. Some might only
consider situational irony to be
ironic rarely if at all. Rather, in
most cases, it seems more

13. There are three stages of dramatic
irony:
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?