AxTng1 on 20/12/2007 at 19:03
Alright boffins, it's time to get this SORTED!
What does irony mean? What is an example of something that is Ironic? Various dictionaries give different replies, and most of them indicate what I previously thought of as "sarcasm" or "satire". Any language experts want to share their opinions?
I have an example here, and would like to know if it is Ironic.
Quote Posted by AxTng1
NWN1, Chapter 2: I found a community of Druids (dedicated to the preservation of nature, caring for animals etc). To join their order, I would have to take a level of druid. I did not have quite enough XP to level up, so I killed a bunch of animals. So that I could join the druids. And protect the animals. Irony? You decide.
Also if anyone replies "it's rain on your wedding day", they get an e-smack.
EDIT: A bit of searching turned up this rather unhelpful gem. (
http://ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1172634#post1172634) It's a start I suppose
The Alchemist on 20/12/2007 at 19:16
Mr. Play-It-Safe was afraid to fly. He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye. He waited his whole damn life to take that flight, and as the plane crashed down he thought "Well isn't this nice..." And isn't it ironic... don't you think? A little too ironic, yeah I really do think.
Edit: Damn, I rehashed Tej's reply from your link.
Turtle on 20/12/2007 at 19:44
It's when the actual outcome is the opposite of the intended outcome.
Jesus Christ people, how many times are we going to have to go over this?
Ulukai on 20/12/2007 at 19:51
Quote Posted by AxTng1
Also if anyone replies "it's rain on your wedding day", they get an e-smack.
Yeah, Alanis has a lot to answer for.
Rain on your wedding day isn't ironic unless you're a weatherman who has forecast a heatwave. Let's get that sorted right off the bat.
AxTng1 on 20/12/2007 at 20:21
Quote Posted by Turtle
It's when the actual outcome is the opposite of the intended outcome.
Jesus Christ people, how many times are we going to have to go over this?
I did some basic searching, and the vague ZB quote was all I came up with of any value.
And there must be more to it than that - if I killed the animals hoping to get XP, but had XP removed instead, that would be ironic? If so, it's a lot less than I imagined.
Tonamel on 20/12/2007 at 20:28
That's only one kind of irony, Turtle (dramatic irony). The most popular dramatic irony being from Gift of the Magi, where two lovers sell their most prized posessions (pocketwatch and hair) so they can afford to buy gifts for each other (comb and watch chain... oops).
There's other kinds, like Socratic Irony, where you make your opposition's argument for them, and by doing so, disprove it. Stephen Colbert does this a lot.
Muzman on 20/12/2007 at 20:40
Quote Posted by AxTng1
And there must be more to it than that - if I killed the animals hoping to get XP, but had XP removed instead, that would be ironic? If so, it's a lot less than I imagined.
No. Your original example is ironic for the Druids. It'd be ironic for you if you were trying to join the druids in order to save animals (given that its a computer rpg, probably not) and you ran over a dog in your haste to get there or something. (that's what's known as "boring example irony"). If you renounced your weapons in order to join the druids but were then eaten by children raised by wolves because you were defenceless... (another not very interesting example)
You need a component of desire or intent in there, anyway.
Shoshin on 20/12/2007 at 20:56
30 months ago my girlfriend and I had a very large fight over the future of our relationship. She wanted kids, I did not.
My daughter is now 22 months old. Do the math on that one.
For the record, I love my daughter (and 5 week old son) and my wife, and couldn't imagine life not as a father. The irony of the above was so perfect and delicious that it snapped me out of my no-kids attitude and straight into "how many should we have".
ZylonBane on 20/12/2007 at 20:58
Quote Posted by Turtle
It's when the actual outcome is the opposite of the intended outcome.
It's not that simple. Otherwise inverted light switches would be considered ironic.
Trying to define dramatic irony is like trying to define humor. It can be very roughly outlined, but in the end it's something that can only be evaluated on an individual basis. George Carlin once wrote a great little piece on irony:
Quote:
Irony deals with opposites; it has nothing to do with coincidence.
If two baseball players from the same hometown, on different teams, receive the same uniform number, it is not ironic. It is a coincidence. If Barry Bonds attains lifetime statistics identical to his father's, it will not be ironic. It will be a coincidence.
Irony is "a state of affairs that is the reverse of what was to be expected; a result opposite to and in mockery of the appropriate result." For instance: a diabetic, on his way to buy insulin, is killed by a runaway truck. He is the victim of an accident. If the truck was delivering sugar, he is the victim of an oddly poetic coincidence. But if the truck was delivering insulin, ah! Then he is the victim of an irony.
If a Kurd, after surviving bloody battle with Saddam Hussein's army and a long, difficult escape through the mountains, is crushed and killed by a parachute drop of humanitarian aid, that, my friend, is irony writ large.
Darryl Stingley, the pro football player, was paralyzed after a brutal hit by Jack Tatum. Now Darryl Stingley's son plays football, and if the son should become paralyzed while playing, it will not be ironic. It will be coincidental. If Darryl Stingley's son paralyzes someone else, that will be closer to ironic. If he paralyzes Jack Tatum's son, that will be precisely ironic.
Muzman on 20/12/2007 at 21:10
Quote Posted by Shoshin
30 months ago my girlfriend and I had a very large fight over the future of our relationship. She wanted kids, I did not.
My daughter is now 22 months old. Do the math on that one.
It'd be ironic if you discovered you had a rare endochrinal condition wherein arguing makes you horny (get it checked. Looks like your girlfriend knows you've got it)
