Night
Irony
Verbal Irony
 A contradiction of expectation between
what is said and what is meant
– Juliet is upset at being told that her father has
promised her hand in marriage to Paris
rather than Romeo, who she loves. She has
fully made up her mind to be married to
Romeo, so she ironically states to her mother
"...I will not marry yet; and, when I do, I
swear it shall be Romeo, whom you know I
hate, rather than Paris ..."
Situational Irony
 A contradiction of expectation
between what might be expected and
what actually occurs often connected
to a fatalistic or pessimistic view of life
– An example would be a man who takes a step
aside in order to avoid getting sprinkled by a
wet dog, and falls into a swimming pool."
(Lars Elleström, Divine Madness. Bucknell
Univ. Press, 2002)
Irony: What kind?
“…we saw the barbed wire
of another camp. An iron
door with this inscription
over it: ‘Work is liberty!’
Auschwitz.”
Irony: Verbal
Literal meaning: Work
will set you free
Ironic meaning:
Prisoners are worked
to death as slaves
Irony: What kind?
“Three days after the
liberation of Buchenwald
I became very ill with
food poisoning. I was
transferred to the hospital
and spent two weeks
between life and death.”
Irony: Situational
Literal meaning: Elie almost
dies of food poisoning
Ironic meaning: After near
starvation in the
concentration camps, he is
nearly killed by food
Irony: What kind?
“Like the leader of the
camp, he loved
children.”
Irony: Verbal
Literal meaning: The camp
officer cares for children
Ironic meaning: He is a
pedophile
Irony: What kind?
“I’ve got more faith in
Hitler than in anyone
else. He’s the only one
who’s kept his promises,
all his promises to the
Jewish people.”
Irony: Verbal
Literal meaning: The
prisoner trusts Hitler
Ironic meaning: Hitler was
keeping the promise of
killing Jews
Irony: What kind?
“The passengers on our boat were
amusing themselves by throwing coins
to the natives…I suddenly noticed that
two children were engaged in a death
struggle…I turned to the lady.
‘Please,’ I begged, ‘don’t throw any more
money in!’
‘Why not?’ she asked. ‘I like to give
charity…’”
Irony: Verbal/Situational
Literal meaning: lady
throws money to children
Ironic meaning: She
thinks this is charity
though it causes the
children to try to kill one
another
Irony: What kind?
“My father took his arm.
And Meir Katz, the
strong man, the most
robust of us all, wept….It
was now that he cracked
up. He was finished, at
the end of his tether.”
Irony: Situational
Literal meaning: Meir Katz
loses his will to live
Ironic meaning: The strongest
man cracks under the brutal
hardships while the weakest
continue to survive
Irony: What kind?
“It’s a shame…a shame
that you couldn't have
gone with your
mother.”
Irony: Verbal
Literal meaning: There are
wishes for son to be with his
mother
Ironic meaning: Most
mothers and children were
immediately gassed
Irony: What kind?
“On we went between the
electric wires. At each step,
a white placard with a
death’s head on it stared us
in the face. Literal meaning
caption: ‘Warning. Danger
of death.’”
Irony: Verbal
Literal meaning: The sign
warns the prisoners of the
electric fence
Ironic meaning: In camp death
surrounds them in many forms--a camp was designed to kill
them
Your turn
Find an additional example of
irony from the book. Be prepared
to share it with the class and
explain whether it is verbal or
situational.