NAME:________________________________________________________
Irony: A literary device that uses contradictory statements or situations to reveal a reality
different from what appears to be true. It is ironic for a firehouse to burn down, or for a police
station to be burglarized.
Irony is, basically, when the surface meaning and the underlying meaning
are not the same.
Verbal irony is a figure of speech that occurs when a person says one thing but means the
opposite. Sarcasm is a strong form of verbal irony that is calculated to hurt someone through,
for example, false praise.
Dramatic irony creates a discrepancy between what a character believes or says and what the
reader or audience member knows to be true.
Situational irony exists when there is an incongruity between what is expected to happen and
what actually happens due to forces beyond human comprehension or control.
Tragic irony is a form of dramatic irony found in tragedies such as Oedipus the King, in which
Oedipus searches for the person responsible for the plague that ravishes his city and ironically
ends up hunting himself.
One Perfect Rose
A single flower he sent me, since we met.
All tenderly his messenger he chose;
Deep-hearted, pure, with scented dew still wet-One perfect rose.
I knew the language of the floweret;
"My fragile leaves," it said, "his heart enclose."
Love long has taken for his amulet
One perfect rose.
Why is it no one ever sent me yet
One perfect limousine, do you suppose?
Ah no, it's always just my luck to get
One perfect rose.
-Dorothy Parker
1)Look at the poem with a partner. First, try to summarize each stanza in
your own words here:
Stanza 1:
Stanza 2:
Stanza 3:
2)What do you think is the MOST important word in the poem and why?
Remember, we’re learning about IRONY here…
3)Look at the story Lamb to the Slaughter. List as many examples of irony
from the story as you can and indicate which type of irony it is: