Sarcasm:Yeah, like you’ll ever need to know anythingabout sarcasm.

Wait a minute, maybe that last comment isn’t just negative, maybe it was THE BEST WAY EVER of demonstrating sarcasm.

Or was that last one supposed to be a tiny bit sarcastic as well? It’s so hard to tell.

Sarcasm:[ad. late L. sarcasm-us, a. late Gr. , f. to tear flesh, gnash theteeth, speak bitterly, f. -, flesh.] A sharp, bitter, or cutting expression or remark; a bitter gibe ortaunt. Now usually in generalized sense: Sarcastic language;sarcastic meaning or purpose, saying the opposite of what youmean.

1579 E. K. in Spenser's Sheph. Cal. Oct., Glosse, Tom piper, an ironicall Sarcasmus, spoken in derision of these rude wits, whych [etc.]. 1581 J. BELL Haddon's Answ. Osor. 324 With this skoffe doth he note them..by a certayne figure called Sarcasmus. 1605 J. DOVE Confut. Atheism 38 He called the other Gods so, by a figure called Ironia, or Sarcasmus. 1621 BURTON Anat. Mel. I. ii. IV. IV, Many are of so petulant a spleene, and haue that figure Sarcasmus so often in their mouths,..that [etc.]. 1661 FELTHAM Resolves II. l. 284 Either a Sarcasmus against the voluptuous; or else, 'tis a milder counsel.

Irony:

Irony:That last slide was actually an example of irony in action, because the real definition of ‘irony’ is:[ad. L. rna (Cicero), a. Gr. ‘dissimulation, ignorance purposely affected’. Cf. F. ironie (yronie, Oresme, 14th c.).]      1. A figure of speech in which the intended meaning is the opposite of that expressed by the words used; usually taking the form of sarcasm or ridicule in which laudatory expressions are used to imply condemnation or contempt.    2. In etymological sense: Dissimulation, pretence; esp. in reference to the dissimulation of ignorance practised by Socrates as a means of confuting an adversary (Socratic irony).

So . . . Sarcasm and Irony are similar in that both involve saying something other than what you actually mean in order to draw attention to the real (but hidden) meaning.

Types of Literary Irony1. Stable Irony: Stable irony offers the reader an

assertion or position which, whether explicit or implied, serves as a firm ground for subverting the surface meaning. In other words, stable ironists are sure about what they believe in and say the opposite (for whatever reason), in the full knowledge that they are doing so.

Stable Iron(y)man:

“I am here to pick on the weak, and to help organized crime!”

Ironic Characterization:STABLE IRONY frequently involves the creation of a persona from whose attitudes the author clearly stands apart. The persona is sometimes naive or ignorant or self-deluded; or, alternatively, is speaking tongue-in-cheek and does not mean what he or she says. Mark Twain’s character, Huck Finn is a good example of a naive persona who serves as a mouthpiece for the author’s use of irony. Scout Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird is also an example of stable irony.

Types of Literary Irony2. Unstable Irony: To the unstable ironist, the world

is a much more ambiguous and unsettling place.

Unstable ironists are of two (or more) minds about what they

believe in, and their constant use of irony (never saying exactly what they mean) reflects this uncertainty. In a sense, the world views of stable and unstable ironists are entirely opposite. In The Dark Knight, the Joker often says the opposite of what he means, but still contradicts himself, leaving us unsure of what he truly means.

Unstable Iron(y)m(e)n

“I am here to free the weak from oppression. I am not.”

Ironic Characterization:UNSTABLE IRONY frequently involves the creation of a relatively sophisticated ironic persona with whom the narrator and the reader are expected to share some attitudes and values, but who is, in turn, subjected to irony – the ironist is ironized.

It is very difficult to know exactly where the author stands in such cases – except that there is good reason to believe that the author’s attitude (and intended meaning) DOES NOT correspond precisely with the attitude of the narrator or protagonist.

There is one important distinction to make when reading literary works that employ either type of irony.

In the case of STABLE IRONY, if you don’t pick up on the irony, you miss the point altogether.

But, in the case of UNSTABLE IRONY, you have less to lose, because it is impossible to say that irony actually determines the meaning (because unstable irony is contradictory by nature).

What do I need to know about reading for Irony?