Verbal Irony - Definition and Examples

Verbal irony is a  trope (or figure of speech) in which the intended meaning of a statement differs from the meaning that the words appear to express. Verbal irony can occur at the level of the individual word or sentence (Nice hair, Bozo), or it may pervade an entire text, as in Jonathan Swifts A Modest Proposal. Jan Swearingen reminds us that Aristotle equated verbal irony  with understatement and verbal dissembling--that is with saying or expressing a veiled or guarded version of what one means (Rhetoric and Irony, 1991). The expression verbal irony was first used in  English criticism in 1833 by Bishop Connop Thirlwall in an article on the Greek playwright Sophocles. Examples In [the 1994 movie]  Reality Bites, Winona Ryder, applying for a newspaper job, is stumped when asked to define irony. It’s a good question. Ryder replies, Well, I can’t really define irony . . . but I know it when I see it. Really?Irony requires an opposing meaning between what’s said and what’s intended. Sounds simple, but it’s not. A paradox, something that seems contradictory but may be true, is not an irony. The Times stylebook, which, believe me, can be harsh, offers useful advice:The loose use of irony and ironically, to mean an incongruous turn of events, is trite. Not every coincidence, curiosity, oddity, and paradox is an irony, even loosely. And where irony does exist, sophisticated writing counts on the reader to recognize it.(Bob Harris, Isn’t It Ironic? Probably Not. The New York Times, June 30, 2008) Verbal Irony as Criticism What separates ironic comments from merely critical comments is that the intended criticism is often not obvious and not meant to be obvious to all participants (part of the face-saving factor). Let us compare the following examples which all share the same situational context: the addressee has once again left the door open. To get the hearer to close the door, a speaker may make any one of the following remarks: (1) Shut the goddamn door!(2) Shut the door!(3) Please shut the door!(4) Would you please shut the door?(5) You always leave the door open.(6) The door seems to be open.(7) I am so glad you remembered to shut the door.(8) I think people who shut doors when its cold outside are really considerate.(9) I love sitting in a draft. Examples (1) through (4) are direct requests varying by the amount of politeness used. Examples (5) through (9) are indirect requests, and, except for (5), which functions as a complaint, are all ironic. Even though the request for action in (5) is indirect, the criticism is obvious, whereas in examples (6) through (9) the criticism is hidden to different degrees. We see here that irony is more than the mere opposition of a surface and an underlying reading. The speaker of (8) in all actuality probably believes that people who shut doors when its cold outside are really considerate. Thus, there is no discernible opposition of a surface and an underlying reading. Nevertheless, examples like (8) should also be covered by any definition of irony.(Katharina Barbe, Irony in Context. John Benjamins, 1995) Swifts Verbal Irony The simplest form of high relief verbal irony is the antiphrastic praise for blame, for example, the Congratulations! we offer to the smart Alec who has let the side down. . . . [Jonathan] Swifts Directions to Servants, his satire of the faults and follies of servants, takes the form of advising them to do what they too frequently already do and reproducing their lame excuses as valid reasons: In Winter Time light the Dining-Room Fire but two Minutes before Dinner is served up, that your Master may see, how saving you are of his Coals.(Douglas Colin Muecke, Irony and the Ironic. Taylor Francis, 1982) Socratic Irony The everyday irony that, today, we identify in simple cases of verbal irony has its origin in [the] Socratic technique of eironeia. We use a word but expect others to recognise that there is more to what we are saying than the uses of everyday language. (Claire Colebrook, Irony. Routledge, 2004)I value the privilege of sitting beside you very highly, for I have no doubt that you will fill me with an ample draught of the finest wisdom. (Socrates addressing Agathon in Platos Symposium, c. 385-380 BC) Verbal irony forms the basis for what we mean when we say irony. In ancient Greek comedy, there was a character called an eiron who seemed subservient, ignorant, weak, and he played off a pompous, arrogant, clueless figure called the alazon. Northrop Frye describes the alazon as the character who doesnt know that he doesnt know, and thats just about perfect. What happens, as you can tell, is that the eiron spends most of his time verbally ridiculing, humiliating, undercutting, and generall y getting the best of the alazon, who doesnt get it. But we do; irony works because the audience understands something that eludes one or more of the characters.   (Thomas C. Foster, How to Read Literature Like a Professor. HarperCollins, 2003)Audens Unknown CitizenOur researchers into Public Opinion are contentThat he held the proper opinions for the time of year;When there was peace, he was for peace; when there was war, he went.He was married and added five children to the population,Which our Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his generation.And our teachers report that he never interfered with their education.Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd:Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard.(W. H. Auden, The Unknown Citizen. Another Time, 1940)The Lighter Side of Verbal IronyCommander William T. Riker: Charming woman!Lt. Commander Data: [voice-over] The tone of Commander Rikers voice makes me suspect that he is not serious about finding Ambassador TPel charming. My experience suggests that in fact, he may mean the exact opposite of what he says. Irony is a form of expression I have not yet been able to master.​​(Datas Day, Star Trek: The Next Generation, 1991) Also Known As: rhetorical irony, linguistic irony

The Ethics Of Physician Assisted Suicide - 1723 Words

Physician assisted suicide, the suicide of a patient suffering from an incurable disease, effected by the taking of lethal drugs provided by a doctor for this purpose. The question of whether or not this practice should be made legal in the United States has been one of controversy since 1997. Beginning with the case of Washington v. Glucksberg, where the United States Supreme Court ruled that the matter of the constitutionality of a right to a physician’s aid in dying, was best left up to the states. Then gaining even more controversy when Oregon passed the Death with Dignity Act, which allowed terminally-ill Oregonians to end their lives by the practice of physician assisted suicide. (CNN.com) Proponents of physician assisted suicide†¦show more content†¦The practice is only legal in the states of Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and California, with Oregon being the first state to legalize the practice in 1994 and California being the latest state to legalize it in 201 5. Although the practice is legal within the states mentioned, each state has its own laws and regulations as to who can receive the assisted suicide, in addition to what kind of physician must perform the assisted suicide and what procedures they must take. For example, in the state of Oregon, the patient must have a terminal illness in addition to a prognosis of six months or less to live. The physician providing the service must be either a Doctor of Medicine or a Doctor of Osteopathy and be willing to participate the act. In a different state such as California, the patient requesting an assisted suicide must first submit two oral requests, fifteen days apart, with a written request sent directly to his or her attending physician. California also requires the physician performing the practice to be either a Doctor of Medicine or a Doctor of Osteopathy and be willing to participate the act. (CNN.com) One organization in particular that aids terminally ill patients with informatio n regarding physician assisted suicide is the Final Exit Network. Originally known as the Hemlock Society which was organized in 1980 then over time split into two organizations known as the Final

Describe Some Difficulties You Face Free Essays

When studying a particular language, it seems that everyone has to carefully prepare for many things, such as many grammatical terms, new words, as well as sentence structures. In fact, as time passed people will deeply comprehend why a language has to follow several rules and some exceptions. Most people just think a language only contains few aspects such as grammar or words, which is so easy for learners to understand. We will write a custom essay sample on Describe Some Difficulties You Face or any similar topic only for you Order Now In fact, there are a lot of burdens as well as difficulties which one will run into when he or she really wants to fully have a clear picture. Take English as a prime example. Obviously, English is more and more spoken around the world. In fact, there are many English levels in which one needs to realize when studying English. For example, in beginner or pre-intermediate levels, English seems to be easy for most people, because people just gain some basic words and most time they use English for only communicative purposes. However, far beyond these levels, learners will enter a much tougher level of English-studying, especially English uesed in many academic domains or many literary purposes. Thus, in these fields, English is no longer something easy; people have to meticulously understand how to precisely use English both in words and many grammatical points. For one thing, it is very easy to use English in many informal contexts, people feel free to express their ideas, talk about what they think and so on†¦ Nevertheless, in some formal situations, particularly in academic writings, it is very difficult for us to determine who will be readers. In practice, the audiences may be our friends, professors or someone else. Therefore, we have to devise a formal essay which not only shows our respects to readers, also give them impression of what we wrote. A problem here is how we can know or have an idea whether the way we are writing is formal. Moreover, how formal we can make to give a clear picture for the readers or too many formalities can cause confusion to out audiences. To solve this problem effectively, we have to practice writing as much as we can to see our weaknesses and learn many important lessons from previous mistakes. In addition, we can also read several English books to have a grip on how many native English write to model ourselves on the way they think and write. Another point is the usage of words. Apparently, there is no doubt that we will write what we think. However, what if there are many same words in just one passage. Readers will be bored because there is no attraction, emphasis to highlight main points. Hence, learning new words is particularly essential when studying English. But the difficulty is how we can use a word in a right context. To better illustrate, think about the two words â€Å"tall† and â€Å"high†. Obviously, these two words are used to measure a length of an object. Tall will be used to talk about height of a person or tree. But it cannot be used to mention quality, size or degree. No one says â€Å"a tall temperature or speed†. As a result when learning a new word besides remembering its meaning we need to have a very good idea of how we can apply it in right contexts. To conclusion, there are many vital aspects that we need to consider when learning a language. Keep practice using language regularly is the best way which we can use it perfectly. How to cite Describe Some Difficulties You Face, Essay examples