Show me the irony.

[barash]

Let's kneecap this misnomer right now.

Irony is (as stated above) when the result of a situation is the opposite of what you expected. Comes in (mostly) two major varieties:

1) Dramatic irony: When the characters or people involved in a situation expect something to happen and the opposite happens instead.
Ex.

2) Situational irony: When the audience viewing a situation (or a retelling of such)expect something to happen and the opposite happens.

It is NOT something that seems vaguely appropriate to the situation (tripping on concrete while wearing skates after stepping off a skating rink). It only works if it is the opposite of expectations.

From dictionary.com

1) Dramatic: irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the play.

Not necessarily opposite.

2) Situational: an outcome that turns out to be very different from what was expected, the difference between what is expected to happen and what actually does.

Not necessarily opposite.

Sorry, yes that is correct. I mixed up the literary terms for ironic and the real-world application of the term. The opposite scenario only applies to real-world situations like (some) of the situations described above (but not alot).

Also, I hate it when people misuse the word ironic. Does that make me an Ironic Nazi?

Maybe a slightly passive-aggressive one

 

[PumpItUp]

This is not irony, unless his parents named him Christian in the hopes that he would be a devout follower of Christianity. THAT would be ironic, otherwise no.

I wouldn't expect an atheist to be named Christian. Although it would probably be more ironic if he came from an atheistic family.

I'm not sure if that is ironic. Why would atheist parents name their child Christian? Probably because they thought is was a good name. Christian (the name) has little to do with Christianity anymore, so there may not be irony in an atheist is named Christian.

Irony is often created through the expectation of the involved parties (in this case, Christian and his parents), not the outside observers (us).

 

[barash]

Edit: Well now i feel quite dumb. I was mistaken in my definition of Irony. I shall simply remove my Doom comment and let the thread continue.

Don't worry about it, I bet that if we polled people on the streets we'd find 90% or more have the wrong idea.

Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2krXq8fw90 and have a smile, on the house ^_^

 

[Sneeze]

Being run over by an ambulance?

A fire station catching fire?

A police station getting burgled?

Walking past a building site at the right moment when a builders construction helmet falls off, falls several floors, lands on your head killing you?

 

[crudus]

I'm not sure if that is ironic. Why would atheist parents name their child Christian? Probably because they thought is was a good name. Christian (the name) has little to do with Christianity anymore, so there may not be irony in an atheist is named Christian.

Irony is often created through the expectation of the involved parties (in this case, Christian and his parents), not the outside observers (us).

So irony in plays doesn't actually exist because the involved parties (the actors) know what is actually going to happen and the observers (the audience) are irrelevant in the "is it ironic" equation?

 

[badgersprite]

Perhaps. Not the greatest example I admit.

It is hard to think of good examples of irony since it is hard to say "Yeah, I think this is the opposite of what I would expect".

There are plenty of examples, though, but they're usually not the kind of things we look for. Coincidence is mistaken for irony, but sometimes irony is mistaken for coincidence. Like a no smoking sign on top of wallpaper that has people smoking. You wouldn't expect the two to be placed together. Hence irony. Having the smoking area of a restaurant have that wall paper isn't irony, because it's fitting.

It can be a very fine line, though; you're right. For example, a car crashing into a car repair shop isn't necessarily irony; it's actually fitting. People mistake it as irony because they see that and recognize it as being one of those "fate has a wicked sense of humor" things. That's not to say these situations can't be ironic. Sometimes they are. Irony in that kind of situation would be more like a road safety sign somehow causing an accident; the complete opposite of what you would expect. Not the strongest example, maybe, but I just woke up so my brain isn't working.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

Just spent 10 minutes trying to get the difference between irony and coincidence and still dont get it

How would you define it?

Irony is to achieve the opposite of ones own intention. Either through action or word. Imagine a fat man in a fast food restaurant. He decides to put down the burger, cross the road to the salad bar and try and extend his lifespan by eating healthier. On the road he is run down by a truck full of diet pills. By trying to improve his lifespan, he ended it, thus achieveing the opposite of what he wanted by trying to achieve it in a single action. Thats irony. A vegan who loves vampire weekend and meatloaf (the band) is ironic because you have a vegan, that loves meatloaf.

 

[PumpItUp]

I'm not sure if that is ironic. Why would atheist parents name their child Christian? Probably because they thought is was a good name. Christian (the name) has little to do with Christianity anymore, so there may not be irony in an atheist is named Christian.

Irony is often created through the expectation of the involved parties (in this case, Christian and his parents), not the outside observers (us).

So irony in plays doesn't actually exist because the involved parties (the actors) know what is actually going to happen and the observers (the audience) are irrelevant in the "is it ironic" equation?

That's literary irony which barash kindly described above. Literary irony is created by the disconnect between the characters and the audience (characters can know something that the audience doesn't and vice versa).

I was speaking of real-world irony (I am unsure if there is a proper term) which is more flexible in its definition. Hence why it is so easy to misuse.

 

[PumpItUp]

Just spent 10 minutes trying to get the difference between irony and coincidence and still dont get it

How would you define it?

Irony is to achieve the opposite of ones own intention. Either through action or word. Imagine a fat man in a fast food restaurant. He decides to put down the burger, cross the road to the salad bar and try and extend his lifespan by eating healthier. On the road he is run down by a truck full of diet pills. By trying to improve his lifespan, he ended it, thus achieveing the opposite of what he wanted by trying to achieve it in a single action. Thats irony. A vegan who loves vampire weekend and meatloaf (the band) is ironic because you have a vegan, that loves meatloaf.

Your first example is ironic (almost, it would be truly ironic if he was hit by a truck carrying vegetables or salads).
Your second example is not ironic, it is a pun. The vegan likes Meatloaf (the singer) and there is nothing objectionable about a vegan liking a rock star, and is thus not ironic.