Free Essays on Irony to Get Inspired & Learn by Example

The story of “A Doll House” maintains a number of ironic situations that Ibsen use throughout his story. In fact Ibsen uses these types of irony to accentuate the events in the story and add to the conflict, creativity and originality of the piece. Irony in its broadest sense is “saying one thing and meaning the other,” (Literary Terms and Definitions: I, n.p). Verbal irony is also referred to as sarcasm and reflects a different meaning from what is expressed. Dramatic irony includes a situation where the reader is aware of present or future events that the characters are Continue reading...

William Sydney Porter (using the pen name “O. Henry”) wrote a short story concerning the love two people have for each other at Christmas time. Published in 1905, it has endured through the years as an example of writing in irony and using the “twist ending” still popular in literature and film today. It may be supposed “The Gift of the Magi” is taught in every high school in the country for a number of reasons.
In order to analyze the story of Della and Jim, it is necessary to understand the three types of irony. Watt (2015) defines Continue reading...

Chua’s article, “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior,” claims that Chinese parents are superior. The angle she used to emphasis the argument of Chinese parents as superior to Western parents is attempted through humor, irony, and in a self-reprimanding manner. She is fairly successful at the attempt in certain ways.

Humor

The use of irony as a method of humor is placed throughout the article, in an attempt to be funny. Western audiences did not seem to understand or appreciate any humor in the article, instead referring to her as a monster (Kate Zernike, 3). This prompted Chua to respond Continue reading...

Judging from the title of the Kate Chopin’s short story “The story of an hour,” it is really short. But the writer did not limit various fiction techniques to make the plot original and the story itself interesting and memorable.
One of the most striking elements that we are pay attention already in the beginning of the story is irony. It starts the story and points out its direction further. It is very intriguing. The very first sentence shows sarcasm and reveals the irony of the situation. The point is that Mrs. Mallard has heart troubles and, tragically, Continue reading...

Billy Collins’ “Bread and Butter” exudes an effortless simplicity that gracefully lends to its deeper, more delicate meaning. The underlying poise with which the narrator expresses his sentiments allows the reader to feel at ease and comfortable with the universal ideas being shared, while the use of literary tools such as point of view, symbolism, and imagery, serve to communicate a message that is best felt in the heart rather than heard by the mind.
In the first stanza, the narrator uses vivid imagery to bring the reader into an intimate setting when he says, “You could hear the Continue reading...

Irony and Fate in Oedipus

Oedipus, the tragic Greek hero in Sophocles’ play is a character who cannot escape from his fate. Although Oedipus tries everything possible, including running away from his parents in Corinth and seeking the truth about the cause for the plague in Thebes he falls victim to fate and everything happens as it was predetermined. The play is also filled with Irony. The dramatic irony lies in the fact that Oedipus flees Corinth to escape the prophecy about killing his father and marrying his own mother. In running from Corinth, he unknowingly becomes instrumental in fulfilling the very prophecy that Continue reading...

Causes and Effects of Smoking

Smoking is regarded as a legal and widely engaged killer that takes away the lives of as much as 45000 people annually. As a matter of fact, smoking is regarded as the most horrendous habit taken up by people of all age, gender, class and creed. The widely accepted demon is known to exploit the generations in a slow yet potent manner. The annual life was taken by smoking as mentioned 45000 is greater than the life lost annually by road accidents, drunk driving and the use of illegal substances. The irony of the situation is that irrespective of Continue reading...

Society puts a lot of effort into protecting children’s innocence; parents are constantly told that they should monitor their young ones so that they are not exposed to the more mundane aspects of human nature, such as sexuality and violence. However, this necessarily skews children’s encounters of the reality of human existence, leading them to biased perceptions. The poems “A Barred Owl”, by Richard Wibur, and “The History Teacher”, by Billy Collins, explore these themes, commenting that even though parents can do all they can to prevent their children’s exposure to horrible aspects of nature, they Continue reading...

Interpretive Essay on Vandals by Alice Munro

Munro Alice’s Vandals is an exceptional story mainly constructed on the themes of pedophilia, taxidermy, and Gothic. Liza; the main character in the short story is sexually molested by Ladner, who most likely also abuses her brother Kenny too. Their father warned Liza and Kenny about Ladner, a taxidermist; works for museums, but they got close to him and watched him as they gained interest and knowledge in animals. Taxidermy refers to preparation stuffing and collecting of animal skins in a bid to preserve them or for exhibition and scientific study. Ladner then took advantage of this close Continue reading...

Sweeney Todd is a street barber who has been in exile in London for 15years. He comes back and wants to take revenge on a judge who was corrupt for falsely accusing him and ruining his entire life. Sweeney’s plan to revenge comes after Mrs. Lovett tells him how his wife swallowed poison after being raped and that Judge Turnip was holding Johanna, his daughter, captive. Todd swears revenge, on the whole, human race. He does this by joining forces with his neighbor Mrs. Lovett, he kills his customers and gives them to Mrs. Lovett, who bakes them Continue reading...