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Jun 6, 2023 · Irony Definition: What is Irony in Literature? Irony occurs when a moment of dialogue or plot contradicts what the audience expects from a character or story. In other words, irony in literature happens when the opposite of what you’d expect actually occurs.
Sep 3, 2021 · Last updated: Sep 3, 2021 • 5 min read. As a literary device, irony is often misunderstood. Although many of us learn about irony in our high school English classes through works of theater like Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet or Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex, many people feel unsure of what irony means—or how to use it correctly.
As a literary device, irony implies a distance between what is said and what is meant. Based on the context, the reader is able to see the implied meaning in spite of the contradiction.
