Name: ______________________________
Identifying Irony
Directions: Read the following examples of irony. Determine which of the three types of irony are
being used and then explain your answer.
Dramatic irony – This occurs when the reader or audience understands more about the events of a story than a character.
Situational irony – This occurs when what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected or appropriate.
Verbal irony – A person or character says one thing but really means the opposite.
1. When Mr. Goodenwell saw his baby boy Vince for the first time, he swore that he'd do anything to
protect the little guy. This was easy at first, when all Vince did was lie in a pillow and drink milk. But
as little Vince grew bigger, he started walking. And once he started walking, he got into everything. He
was becoming a serious threat to himself when Mr. Goodenwell, making good on his vow to protect his
son, went to the store and bought $150 worth of equipment to childproof his home. He put covers on the
outlets, bumpers on the table corners, and a sliding lock on the toilet lid. But right as Mr. Goodenwell
was adjusting the covers on the door knobs, Vince pulled the cap off an outlet and choked on it. Mr.
Goodenwell found him just in time.
Which type of irony is used? ____________________________________________________________
Explain your answer:
2. One bright and warm Easter morning, Timmy Holloway woke up to the smell of eggs, but not
breakfast eggs, Easter eggs. That's right Timmy had a craving for Easter eggs, and today was the day to
get them boy howdy. There was only one thing standing in his way, well two really: the Solomon
brothers. The Solomon brothers got more eggs than Timmy every year because there were two of them
and they counted their eggs as one. Timmy suspected that this was cheating but he couldn't articulate
the notion. When Timmy got to the fair grounds, he clutched his Easter egg sack behind his back and
approached the Solomon brothers. The taller one distracted Timmy while the shorter one snuck behind
him, clipping the corner of Timmy's egg sack and making quite a big hole. Unfortunately, Timmy failed
to notice this. When the whistle blew, Timmy was off. He was surprised to see the Solomon brothers
behind him, since he was much faster than they, but he didn't mind. Timmy beat them to every egg, and
raced on to the next, never noticing that his sack wasn't getting heavier. As he approached the end of the
course, Timmy was elated that he was the first to finish. The Solomon brothers were right behind him.
"Maybe next year, loser twins," Timmy chuckled, right before he noticed that his sack was empty.
Which type of irony is used? ____________________________________________________________
Explain your answer:
3. Making friends isn't easy. Ask Juan Guerrero, who moved to New High School High three months
ago but still eats lunch by himself. Nobody picks on him really, but they pretty much ignore him
completely, at least since the incident. You see, Juan had his chance. We almost adopted him into our
crew, the skaters, after Juan said he could skate. "Oh yeah?" asked my boy Romeo, "well, where's your
