Literary terms · AP English Literature, AP English Language, SAT Reading and Writing, ACT Reading
Irony
Also called: Dramatic irony, Situational irony, Verbal irony
Irony: A contrast between what is said and what is meant, what is expected and what happens, or what a character knows and what the audience knows.
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What it means
Verbal irony says one thing and means another. Situational irony occurs when the outcome contradicts expectations. Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something a character does not. All three create a gap that invites the reader to see more than the surface.
Irony often carries a work's critique or its sense of tragedy, so the analysis should explain what the gap reveals.
Example
Dramatic irony: the audience knows a letter of apology is sitting unread in a character's coat pocket while she declares she will never forgive him.
On the exam
Irony is frequently tested in AP Lit multiple choice and is strong evidence in essays when you explain the gap and its significance.
Lessons and practice questions
Related terms
- Unreliable narratorA narrator whose account cannot be fully trusted because of bias, limited knowledge, self-deception or dishonesty.
- Tone shiftA change in a speaker's or narrator's attitude within a text, often marking a turn in meaning.
- ToneThe writer's or speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience, conveyed through diction, syntax and detail.