History Main / Irony

* Irony/RealLife

* [[http://theoatmeal.com/comics/irony This strip]] by ''Webcomic/TheOatmeal'', in addition to listing the 3 most common examples, pokes fun at the arguments over the uses of the word over the internet.

* Comedic site Webcomic/TheOatmeal has an [[http://theoatmeal.com/comics/irony interesting take]] on what the most common source of irony is.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In the ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'' episode "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings", the Robot Devil throughout the episode describes the results of his schemes as ironic, to which Bender kept correcting him: "It's not ironic; it's just coincidental!" or "It's not ironic; it's just ''mean!''" Only at the episode's musical ending did Bender note that the Robot Devil finally executed the ''dictionary'' meaning of the word: "The use of words expressing something other than their literal intention! Now [[PunctuatedForEmphasis THAT... IS... irony!]]"[[note]] As indicated above, however, that is only the definition of ''Verbal'' Irony (and the example he's referring to is closer to a misleading metaphor). The Robot Devil's first use of the word actually is a correct example of Situational Irony. [[/note]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'', Beezy exclaims that something is ironic. He then pauses and wonders if he actually knows what irony is. Later in the episode, he's still wondering if he got it right.
* In ''WesternAnimation/SkylandersAcademy'', while Kaos gives Spyro a beat down [[ThrowTheBookAtThem with the book that Spyro is trying to recover]], he remarks on the irony of the situation, hesitates and asks Glumshanks if that does in fact count as irony or not.
-->'''Glumshanks''': I try to avoid that word sir, on account of the fact that nobody knows what it means.
* Mark Lily of ''WesternAnimation/UglyAmericans'' is a social worker for the department of integration, whose entire job is to help the various weird monsters of the setting integrate into the city. He is incredibly ignorant of them and their needs despite his well-meaning attempts to help
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Let's describe what irony is not, since [[DudeNotIronic that is where the confusion mainly comes from]] (and [[http://www.cracked.com/article_15664_9-words-that-dont-mean-what-you-think.html it's misused]] a lot).

See Analysis.{{Irony}} for the types of Irony.

[[folder:Types of Irony]]
There are seven main situations where Irony belongs: '''Socratic''', '''Verbal''', '''{{Dramatic|Irony}}''', '''Tragic''', '''Situational''', '''Cosmic''', and '''Historical'''. If something does not fit in any of these, it is not irony.

[[AC:Socratic]]

This type is completely different from the others. First employed by {{Creator/Socrates}} (hence the name), it's more of a debating tool than modern irony. Thus it rarely overlaps with the other types.\\
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In a nutshell, this is the use of constant questioning in order to reveal the truth of any position. You know how [[ConstantlyCurious kids like to ask "Why?" no matter the answer]]? This is the more sophisticated version. You keep [[ObfuscatingStupidity feigning ignorance]] of the topic, in order to force the other person to [[ExplainExplainOhCrap explain it further]]. The irony lies in the fact that you are treating the other person as one possessing coveted knowledge and/or wisdom far above your "lowly" station, the whole point in doing so is to expose the fact that they are, in fact, ''not''. Creator/JonStewart favors this method, as do many professors (particularly law professors).\\
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Closely related to ArmorPiercingQuestion.
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[[AC:Verbal]]

->''"The use of words expressing something other than their literal intention. Now that. Is. Irony."''
-->--'''[[{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}} Bender]]''' defining verbal irony (though not, as he believes, irony as a whole; [[HypocriticalHumor isn't that ironic]]?)

Verbal irony is part of the modern irony types, but it differs from the others in that the irony is intentional. Basically, you state something in a manner that has literal connotation, but expresses something different in the context of the situation. This may be done for any number of reasons, but typically the intent is either humor or emphasis.\\
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Again, you have to intentionally create this difference in order for it to be verbal irony. If you deny that you're upset, but in an angry tone, that's just plain denial, not irony. You mean to try to convince people you are calm, but your tone betrays you. To be verbal irony you have to deny it in a calm tone, but deliberately make it clear you are seething on the inside and want the other person to know it. Note, however, that just because this example wouldn't be verbal irony, this doesn't mean it couldn't be ironic; the irony in this case would be situational, since it's not intended by the speaker.\\
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The distinction between irony and sarcasm is that sarcasm is meant to mock things. The two frequently overlap, but not all verbal irony is sarcastic and not all sarcasm is ironic. Using the case above, denying your anger in a deliberately angry tone would be sarcasm, but would ''not'' be verbal irony because the angry tone would imply your intention.\\
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Note, however, that although a sarcastic tone does betray the ironic intent of the words used, this does not mean that irony is no longer present. Indeed, it is only tone and context that distinguish verbal irony from outright lying. For example, take the film ''About a Boy''. The main character's father wrote a hit song, and every time he mentions the song, people start singing it. When the eponymous boy and his mother do the same, they apologize, seeing the look on his face. When they mention he probably got that a lot, he politely says, "[[NeverHeardThatOneBefore No, you're the first]]." If he had said it in a sarcastic (that is, openly derisive) tone, that would be sarcasm. If he had said it in a normal tone, and added something like, "In fact, I'd like people to do it all the time," there would be a hint of mocking, also making it sarcasm. But since he said it the way he did, it's just an example of verbal irony.\\
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One non-sarcastic form of verbal irony is the "ironic simile". A common example would be the expression "clear as mud"; the message conveyed is the polar opposite of the adjective used, and this is made clear by the fact that the noun used for comparison is obviously not something possessing that quality.\\
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Now, what about lying? Though it may at first seem as though they may overlap, this is not really the case. Verbal irony has the intention of getting the meaning across. As in the example from ''About a Boy'', he did mean that they were not the first, but that he was being nice about it. In the case of most lies, the intention is not to give that hint; it's just outright deception.
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[[AC:{{Dramatic|Irony}}]]

This is basically letting the audience in on something of which one or more characters is unaware. Thus any actions or words from the character about this thing are ironic to the audience, because we know better.\\
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Take the [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon Disney version]] of ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty''. Prince Phillip meets Briar Rose, but neither of them knows that other is royalty (and [[RagsToRoyalty Briar Rose doesn't even know she is, herself]]). The Prince's father is horrified to learn that Phillip wants to marry a commoner, and it seems as though they can't be together, but we know who Briar Rose really is, so we know that they can.\\
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So this literally applies any time the audience is in on something, and watching characters react without knowing what the audience knows. Often a key part of a screwball comedy, but it can just as easily be played for drama or tragedy, such as in Shakespeare's ''{{Theatre/Othello}}'', where the audience knows that Iago is lying long before the characters do.\\
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Another way to create opportunities for Dramatic Irony in a story is to alter the chronology of its telling, by making use of {{Flashback}}s or doing the whole tale BackToFront. This style allows characters to make promises that the audience already knows were ultimately broken.\\
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DramaticIrony has its own trope page.
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[[AC:Situational]]

In truth, a more fitting term would be "Expectational Irony", since that is what it covers. Situational Irony is when the outcome of some situation or action is the exact opposite of the expected or intended outcome.\\
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Someone tries to fire-proof their house, and in the process somehow sets their house on fire.\\
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Take the trope FailsafeFailure, for example. The expectation is for safety features to ensure that something is, well, ''safe'', and then the safety feature itself turns out to be dangerous.\\
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Or see the tropes TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes and SelfFulfillingProphecy.\\
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This, in a nutshell, is what people most often mean, or ''think'' they mean, when they say something is ironic. The key is that it is the ironic result ''of an action'', not merely the result itself. "I rushed to the airport, but ironically my flight was delayed!" is not actually ironic. That is merely unfortunate. If, however, by your actions to get to the plane on time you somehow caused the flight to leave even earlier, that would be ironic.\\
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An explanation for this confusion may actually be found in Dramatic Irony. Many people consciously or subconsciously view their life as a narrative, as if someone or some audience was watching it all unfold like a play. Therefore from the point of view of an omniscient observer, their actions would seem ironic; there was no need to rush to the airport because the flight was already delayed, and an omniscient observer would have already known that. A person takes on the role of this observer in retrospect when they "watch themselves" in the past.
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[[AC:Tragic]]

This is a specific type of dramatic irony, usually found in a {{Tragedy}}, FilmNoir, or in general a story with a DownerEnding. The character's words or even actions are not ironic to them (or perhaps anyone in the story), but the audience is fully aware that their actions will bring about a tragic or deadly result, all while they ostensibly fight against such a result.\\
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A tragedy can have dramatic irony in it without being tragic irony; tragic irony depends on the audience knowing ''how the story ends'' ahead of time. This might be intentionally produced by a FramingDevice, such as making the whole piece a {{Flashback}} so the audience sees the end first ("[[JustForFun/TheZerothLawOfTropeExamples Two households]], [[Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet both alike in dignity]]..."), or it might be unintentional because [[ItWasHisSled the end of the movie becomes very well known]], [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil or somewhere in between those two]], or it could simply be a story whose ending the viewer is expected to [[ForegoneConclusion already know about]] from everyday life (such as ''Film/PearlHarbor'', ''{{Film/Titanic|1997}}'' or ''Film/ThePassionOfTheChrist'').\\
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For example: Charles wants to save his father from being jailed for "helping" commit a murder he was framed for. In the process of clearing his father's name, Charles discovers that his father was innocent of ''that'' crime, but guilty of murdering Charles' mother, thus beginning the entire torturous process of trials, jail time, and eventual execution, as well as Charles learning something unforgivable about his father.\\
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This would be Tragic Irony ''if'' the audience knew from the start that the father had murdered his wife (say, if it were shown early in the film) and could foresee that investigating the father would lead to that discovery. If the audience discovered that fact ''at the same time'' as Charles, then it becomes situational irony (at least, the first time you watch the film) because the viewers and Charles suddenly realize that everyone would have been better off if he had never started investigating.
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[[AC:Cosmic]]

Basically, [[CosmicPlaything the universe is screwing with you]]. The difference between this and situational irony is a matter of degree, but if it causes a mess of some sort, it's usually this.\\
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Take ASimplePlan. It's situational in that the expectation is of course simplicity, but the way things tend to just snowball, often through no fault of the initiator, is this version.\\
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The fact that most SelfFulfillingProphecies are caused by the ''very act'' of trying to prevent them.
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[[AC:Historical]]

This is any of the above (save for Socratic), through hindsight. We know it happened, and unless we [[ValuesDissonance don't get the cultural causes]], we know why it was ironic.\\
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Take the Oracle at Delphi's prophecy to Croesus that if the king went to war, he would "destroy a great empire." Since the empire that was destroyed was his own, it's a case of situational irony for Croesus (who chose to attack based on this supposed encouragement; his opponent was Persia, also a great empire at the time), verbal irony from the Oracle (who is entirely aware that Croesus will misinterpret her)[[note]]Assuming she knew that what she meant was "Your empire will be destroyed"; the Delphic Oracle was famous for giving answers that would be right no matter what. In this case, she would be right in assuming that one empire or the other would be destroyed, since they were both great powers that would fight each other to the death.[[/note]], tragic irony for the audience (who already know how this is going to go), and possibly cosmic irony (for those who believe in ''hubris'', like many Ancient Greeks did), but since it's in the history books, it's also historical irony.\\
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For some more lighthearted examples of historical irony, see ThisIsGoingToBeHuge and ItWillNeverCatchOn.
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[[AC:[[JustForPun Metallurgical]]]]

[[{{Series/Blackadder}} "Sort of like gold-y and bronze-y, but made of iron."]]\\
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Joking aside, irony ''does'' have a metallurgical definition, and predates the more generally accepted use of irony by at least 100 years. Irony, as a term having to do with the metal iron, is pronounced "ai-'''er'''-nee" (rather than "ai-'''ruh'''-nee").
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** Wilbur spawns a rabbit in the second episode. It doesn't move and Wilbur says he's "being quite safe." Immediately after saying that, the rabbit jumps to it's death.

[[folder: Lets Play]]

* ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'': Steve rogers is a white men with blue eyes and blond hair and the super soldier serum gave him peak human capacity. He use it to punch Nazis and others SocialDarwinist

* ''ComicBook:CaptainAmerica'': Steve rogers is a white men with blue eyes and blond hair and the super soldier serum gave him peak human capacity. He use it to punch Nazis and others SocialDarwinist

* On April Fools 2012, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:April_Fools/April_Fools%27_Day_2012 Irony was nominated for deletion]] on {{Wiki/Wikipedia}} "by sheer coincidence", after which Coincidence was nominated for deletion, "ironically"

* This is [[DiscussedTrope discussed]] at length in the second season of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', when both the Red and Blue Teams are forced by circumstance to [[EnemyMine team up to defeat a bigger enemy.]]

* ''ComicBook/UntoldTalesOfSpiderMan'': In Untold Tales of Spider-Man #16, which focuses on Mary Jane Watson, she says several guys were interested in her when she rejects going on a date with Peter. She does not want to go out with someone who can t get her own date. While in Amazing Spider-Man #25, Mary Jane meets Betty Brant and Liz Allan, two beautiful girls who were both vying for Peter's affections at the time.

Irony can ''overlap'' with those, but just by themselves, they are not irony. This is where the confusion of the meaning of the word usually starts. People try to [[Administrivia/SquarePegRoundTrope apply it where it doesn't belong]]. It's rather common in fiction for [[DudeNotIronic one person to correct another who has incorrectly used the term]].

[[caption-width-right:350:[[ScissorsCutsRock Fire fights back.]]]]

** Guest character John Bishop finds it ironic that fellow guest Frank Skinner's song "Three Lions" -- about England's one World Cup victory over Germany -- became a top 100 hit in Germany.

** [[PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy The Striders]] often claim that many things are 'ironic', when really they are just committedly sarcastic. Their exact definitions vary though (interestingly, since they both claim to be influenced by the other), in that Dave's interpretation seems to involve doing stuff that he doesn't enjoy which makes it ironic because he knows it's not cool, while Dirk's seems to involve doing things which are generally considered uncool but which he actually enjoys. In fact, characters having wildly differing (usually inaccurate) understandings of irony could almost be considered a running gag. One example from Creator/AndrewHussie's AuthorAvatar himself occurs [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=006702 here:]]

This, in a nutshell, is what people most often mean, or ''think'' they mean, when they say something is ironic. The key is that it is the ironic result ''of an action'', not merely the result itself. "I rushed to the airport, but ironically my flight was delayed!" is not actually ironic. That is merely a coincidence. If, however, by your actions to get to the plane on time you somehow caused the flight to leave even earlier, that would be ironic.\\

A man who is accused of being gay tries to prove he isn't by discussing his muscles and virility with his (male) friends, however this comes across as an attempt to flirt with them.\\

* In the ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'' episode "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings", the Robot Devil throughout the episode describes the results of his schemes as ironic, to which Bender kept correcting him: "It's not ironic; it's just coincidental!" or "It's not ironic; it's just ''mean!''" Only at the episode's musical ending did Bender note that the Robot Devil finally executed the ''dictionary'' meaning of the word: "The use of words expressing something other than their literal intention! Now [[PunctuatedForEmphasis THAT... IS... irony!]]"[[note]] As indicated above, however, that is only the definition of ''Verbal'' Irony. The Robot Devil's first use of the word actually is a correct example of Situational Irony. [[/note]]

* Happens multiple times in ''WebVideo/SkyblockButEvery30SecondsARandomItemSpawns'':
** After Wilbur's fish Milo dies, what's the next item he gets? Another fish.
** Wilbur spawns a rabbit in the second episode. It doesn't move and Wilbur says he's "being quite safe." Immediately after saying that, the rabbit jumps to it's death.

* It is [[IsntItIronic not something]] Music/AlanisMorissette understands. [[note]] But isn't that ironic...don't you think? [[/note]]

An explanation for this confusion may actually be found in Dramatic Irony. Many people consciously or subconsciously view their life as a narrative, as if someone or some audience was watching it all unfold like a play. Therefore from the point of view of an omniscient observer, their actions would seem ironic; there was no need to rush to the airport because the flight was already delayed, and an omniscient observer would have already known that. A person takes on the role of this observer in retrospect when they "watch themselves" in the past.\\

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* Irony/Music