Irony and Hypocrisy, Exercises of Social Psychology

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THREE TYPES OF IRONY

Adapted from materials by Janice Bech of Lake Travis High School, Austin,TX

1. Verbal Irony

• the use of words to express

something other than and

especially the opposite of the literal

meaning.

• In other words, you say one thing

but actually mean the opposite.

Verbal Irony

• In Romeo & Juliet , Juliet tells her mother, "I will not marry yet; and, when I do, I swear it shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, rather than Paris".

…in fact, I’m secretly married to Romeo!

The Crucible – Verbal Irony

Parris: There is a party in this church. I am not blind; there is a faction and a party.

Proctor: Against you?

Putnam: Against him and all authority!

Proctor: Why, then I must find it and join it.

(Proctor is being ironic at first, although he protests his sincerity when challenged.)

Verbal Irony often involves a SARCASTIC tone

Honey, your room is absolutely beautiful. I’ve never been prouder of you than right now!

2. Situational Irony

• There is an incongruity--a big

difference (sometimes 180 degrees)--between what is logically expected to happen and what actually happens.

IRONIC by Alanis Morissette

A traffic jam when you're already late A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife It's meeting the man of my dreams And then meeting his beautiful wife And isn't it ironic ... don't you think A little too ironic ... and yeah I really do think... Is there situational irony in this song?

The Crucible - Situational Irony

When Hale quizzes John in Act II about the Ten Commandments.

• Considering what’s

been going on in

his life, the last

commandment

you’d logically

expect John

Proctor to forget

is….

• the one about

adultery!

HYPOCRISY is

a type of Situational Irony

What is hypocrisy?

• The act of condemning another person when the critic is guilty of the act for which he/she demands that the accused be condemned
• This is also sometimes described using the idiom-- the pot calling the kettle black

Hypocrisy Example