【6.2】 Types of Irony One of the most human traits is the capacity to have two or more attitudes toward something.You might love someone but on occasion express your affection by insults rather than praise.A large number of contemporary greeting cards feature witty insults, because many people cannot stand the sentimentality of"straight"cards,preferring to send the insulting card in the expectation that the recipient will be amused and will recognize the sender's genuine fondness.Expressions in which one attitude is conveyed by its opposite are ironic.Irony is a mode of ambiguous or indirect expression;it is natural to human beings who are aware of the possibilities and complexities in life.The major types of irony are verbal,situational,and dramatic. Verbal Irony Verbal irony is a statement in which one thing is said and another is meant.For example,one of the American astronauts was asked how he would feel if all his reentry safety equipment failed as he was coming back to earth.He answered,"A thing like that could ruin your whole day."His words would have been appropriate for day-to-day minor mishaps,but since failed safety equipment would cause his death, his answer was ironic.This form of verbal irony is understatement.By contrast, overstatement or hyperbole is exaggeration for effect,as in "I'll love you till the oceans go dry."Often verbal irony is ambiguous,having double meaning or double-entendre.For example,at the end of Collier's The Chaser(cf.p.176),the old man responds to Austen's "goodbye"with the French farewell salutation "Au revoir". This phrase,meaning"until I see you again",is not especially unusual,and on the surface it seems fairly innocent,but the context makes clear that the old man's final words are a dire prediction that Austen will return one day for the untraceable poison. In other words,the old man's statement has two meanings,one innocent and the other sinister.Ambiguity of course may be used in relation to any topic.Quite often double-entendre is used in statements about sexuality and love,usually for the【6.2】 Types of Irony One of the most human traits is the capacity to have two or more attitudes toward something. You might love someone but on occasion express your affection by insults rather than praise. A large number of contemporary greeting cards feature witty insults, because many people cannot stand the sentimentality of “straight” cards, preferring to send the insulting card in the expectation that the recipient will be amused and will recognize the sender’s genuine fondness. Expressions in which one attitude is conveyed by its opposite are ironic. Irony is a mode of ambiguous or indirect expression; it is natural to human beings who are aware of the possibilities and complexities in life. The major types of irony are verbal, situational, and dramatic. Verbal Irony Verbal irony is a statement in which one thing is said and another is meant. For example, one of the American astronauts was asked how he would feel if all his reentry safety equipment failed as he was coming back to earth. He answered, “A thing like that could ruin your whole day.” His words would have been appropriate for day-to-day minor mishaps, but since failed safety equipment would cause his death, his answer was ironic. This form of verbal irony is understatement. By contrast, overstatement or hyperbole is exaggeration for effect, as in “I’ll love you till the oceans go dry.” Often verbal irony is ambiguous, having double meaning or double-entendre. For example, at the end of Collier’s The Chaser (cf.p.176), the old man responds to Austen’s “goodbye” with the French farewell salutation “Au revoir”. This phrase, meaning “until I see you again”, is not especially unusual, and on the surface it seems fairly innocent, but the context makes clear that the old man’s final words are a dire prediction that Austen will return one day for the untraceable poison. In other words, the old man’s statement has two meanings, one innocent and the other sinister. Ambiguity of course may be used in relation to any topic. Quite often double-entendre is used in statements about sexuality and love, usually for the