Irony:
the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning: - Dictionary.com
a: the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning b: a usually humorous or sardonic literary style or form characterized by irony- Webster's online
"Irony is the bringing together of contradictory truths to make out of the contradiction a new truth with a laugh or a smile." - Becoming Jane
The laugh/smile bit isn't necessarily necessary in my opinion; after all, let's not forget the value of a good deadpan. Beyond that, however, I think the last definition is not only my favorite, but, in my humble opinion, the most accurate. What do you think?
the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning: - Dictionary.com
a: the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning b: a usually humorous or sardonic literary style or form characterized by irony- Webster's online
Irony is a literary or rhetorical device, in which there is an incongruity or discordance between what a speaker or writer says and what he or she means, or what is generally understood.
In modern usage it can also refer to particularly striking examples of incongruities observed in everyday life between what was intended or said and what actually happened.- Wikipedia
"Irony is the bringing together of contradictory truths to make out of the contradiction a new truth with a laugh or a smile." - Becoming Jane
The laugh/smile bit isn't necessarily necessary in my opinion; after all, let's not forget the value of a good deadpan. Beyond that, however, I think the last definition is not only my favorite, but, in my humble opinion, the most accurate. What do you think?
posted by Miri at 3:45 PM
2 Comments:
My own personal definition of irony has always been 'a perverse congruity', or the highlighting thereof. I guess it's most similar to the Becoming Jane one, but I don't think that it needs to shed light on some new truth or anything mushygushy like that.
I think my point was that I found none of the dictionary definitions satisfying. It's sort of sad to be defining words according to movies instead of dictionaries...or in any case, there seems something about it not quite right....
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