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Everyone knows what irony is, right? Well, it’s actually a bit more complex
than it looks.
There are four different kinds of irony: dramatic, situational, verbal, and comedic. Each one has its own characteristics and challenges, but after we break them down, it will be easier to see how you can use them in your own stories.
Dramatic Irony
Dramatic irony, also known as tragic irony, is when the reader knows something the characters don’t. Romeo and Juliet is the go-to example of dramatic irony because, right off the bat, Shakespeare tells the audience about the “star-crossed lovers” the story centers on. We know they’re fated to die, but the characters themselves are unaware of their impending demise.
Here’s an example of how you can use dramatic irony:
The officer walked down the hallway, sweeping her flashlight this
way and that, grumbling under her breath. She didn’t hear the
footsteps behind her that mimicked her own across the creaking
wooden floor. She didn’t notice the monster creeping just inches
away from her. She wouldn’t notice until it was too late—he had
made sure of it.
Thanks to the third-person omniscience of this example, the reader can see both the monster right behind the officer and her unawareness of the danger. It builds suspense because it makes the reader hold their breath, waiting for the officer to discover what they already know and dreading the monster’s attack.
Play around with perspective and point of view while writing dramatic irony. Weaving a multi-layered narrative where some characters know more than
others can make character interactions more exciting as they act on their
limited understanding.
Situational Irony
Situational irony is what often comes to mind when we think of irony. It’s when
the opposite of what the reader expects to happen occurs. A great literary example of this is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. In the story, firefighters burn books and houses instead of putting out fires. Since the concept is a core part
of the plot, the situational irony is present throughout the story rather than being
a one-off event.
Here’s another example of long-term situational irony:
Chaos reigned as the aliens invaded the city. I could only watch as
people were sucked into the sky, pulled higher and higher until they disappeared into the awaiting spaceships. My feet refused to budge
even as the ship’s glowing green radius hovered closer and closer.
Just as the beam licked my toes and I began to feel gravity reverse, something slammed into my back. I cried out and rolled across the
pavement. I crashed into a pile of trash bags on the side of the road.
It was only then I saw what had hit me.
Mr. Haggerty floated through the air, his arms and legs still extended
from his leap. Mr. Haggerty, who’d never believed I’d seen a UFO.
Mr. Haggerty, who constantly complained about hating his job working
with us “sci-fi obsessed brats.” And now, Mr. Haggerty, the worst science teacher ever, offered me a grimace as he was taken by the aliens
instead of me.
This example takes place toward the end of the story. It uses situational irony because Mr. Haggerty is the last person the reader would expect to save the protagonist from aliens. He turns out to be less antagonistic than originally thought, which makes the turn of events all the more shocking.
However, situational irony can be misconstrued as coincidence:
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were political adversaries,
but they both died within hours of each other on the 4th of July
in 1826. How ironic!
That isn’t ironic. The two of them dying on the same day is merely coincidental, not a subversion of expectations. The irony needs to be purposeful, not based
on happenstance or a logical chain of events.
Experiment with situational irony by creating scenarios ranging from short and simple to long-term. The longer you stretch the irony, the more emotion that will be released when the twist is revealed. Make sure each event is truly ironic and not just coincidental by establishing a throughline for the actions that unfold.
Verbal Irony
Verbal irony is when a character says something other than what they mean. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice famously opens with this line: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” This is verbal irony because the story goes on to be about a woman looking to marry a rich man.
There are actually a few types of verbal irony. One type is sarcasm:
The teenager stomped out of the room, swearing up a storm.
“He’s quite the gentleman,” his father said.
However, sarcasm and verbal irony aren’t necessarily the same thing. Sarcasm
is a specific kind of verbal irony where the purpose is to criticize something. Verbal irony doesn’t always involve mockery or self-deprecation.
The children streamed out of the classroom and into the fenced playground.
“We’re free!” they cried.
This is an overstatement since the kids know they aren’t actually free, but they claim to be and exaggerate how awful their school is.
Dylan whistled at the mountains of garbage piled in his friend’s
room. “Oh. That’s a tiny issue.”
This is an understatement. Dylan is downplaying how much of a problem the mess in his friend’s room will be for him.
Like sarcasm, overstatements and understatements are types of verbal irony.
The point of verbal irony is that the speaker knows what they’re saying isn’t what they mean.
Take a look at this example:
“I’m fine,” Lindsey insisted, trying to hide her limp.
Here, Lindsey is trying to convince others that she’s okay. She’s saying what she intends to mean, so it is not considered verbal irony.
Try working with different kinds of verbal irony. It can be a fun way to showcase your characters’ personalities and opinions because it can reflect their sense of humor or attitudes towards others.
Comedic Irony
Comedic irony is a bit trickier to pin down. It’s irony that is played for comedic effect. It often isn’t mentioned as a specific kind of irony because it frequently coincides with the other three, especially situational and verbal.
It can be as simple as this:
The villain laughed maniacally as he sicked his dogs on the
hapless hero. The Rottweilers leapt at the hero, knocking him
to the floor and assaulting his face with endless, slobbery kisses.
The villain stared, slack-jawed as his loyal dogs begged for
belly rubs.
This is situational irony because both the villain and the reader expect the dogs to attack the hero, but instead they adore him. It’s comedic irony because of how silly the situation ends up being. Since it’s played for laughs, the suspense is traded for hilarity.
Since comedic irony can be ironic in other ways, make sure your reader understands that it’s purposefully funny and that it remains ironic. Otherwise,
it could read more like a stand-alone joke. Not all irony is meant to be comedic, even though much of it can be.
With all that said, it’d be quite ironic to not try your hand at using some irony in your writing! Here are some additional resources to explore:
MasterClass’s article “What Is Irony? Different Types of Irony in Literature, Plus Tips on How to Use Irony in Writing”
Fritha Hookway’s blog post “The ironic misuse of irony”
LitChart’s article “Verbal Irony”
About the author: Phoenix Grubbs has two degrees from Michigan State University, double-majoring in English with a creative writing focus and Professional and Public Writing. They love all things grammar and are currently working as a proofreader for Team Velocity.