Straight Talking

Think of a time when someone asked a stupid question and was looking for a serious answer that was right in front of their nose. For example, say someone is looking out their window at the snow covered ground and says “I think it is warm outside.” For a lot of people they would look at the speaker like they were crazy or realize that tit was sarcasm because clearly it is not warm outside. However, most people do not recognize this as a form of irony let alone verbal irony. So, what is irony, verbal irony, and how can a person decide whether a situation is ironic or not?

To begin it helps to know what irony is. Irony is defined as “a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words” ("Irony"). For example, when watching a movie and the viewer knows what is going to happen to the character before the character knows would be dramatic irony. Another example would be saying that the weather is warm when it is really snowing outside would be ironic: specifically verbal irony. There are other forms of irony as well but verbal irony can be the most fun if it is done correctly.

Verbal irony is when “a person says or writes one thing and means another, or uses words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning” (“Verbal Irony”). This is most commonly known as sarcasm. Normally people expect a straight answer but sometimes they get a twisted one because the straight answer is too obvious. So how can verbal irony be used? Remember the example above that talked about someone saying it was warm outside when it was really cold and snowy? This is ironic because, even though they said it was warm, one could simply look outside and see that it was not. While driving there are often many street signs that are ironic if one pays attention. For example, if there is a stop sign at an intersection and a sign that says “keep moving” right next to it this would be verbally ironic because the law says to stop there because of the stop sign but the other sign is telling the drive not to stop. Stores that have the lit open signs and the hanging open/closed sign can be ironic too as some will have their open sign lit but the hanging sign will say closed. Another example would be yelling at a child to get them to be quite because yelling is the opposite of being quiet. In short, basically anything that is meant to be sarcastic is verbal irony because the person is saying the opposite of what they mean.

Verbal irony can be fun because if two people realize it is being used, they can carry on a whole conversation that is verbally ironic. It is also a great way to answer stupid questions and confuse those who take it seriously. It is also a nice way to relieve frustration and anger because it allows the person to pick fun at something they do not want to do. For example, someone may say they are so excited to read a seventy page report when in reality they want to do anything but read it. But just in general, verbal irony is a fun way to share thoughts and feelings.

Verbal irony is just sarcasm and it is not difficult to identify. So the next time when someone is looking out their window at the snow covered ground and says “I think it is warm outside” remember that they are using verbal irony. Many people would take this seriously and that can make it more fun for the person using it. Recognize this as a form of verbal irony and respond back with something just as ironic. Why? Because the more people who recognize and use verbal irony, the more fun the world will be.