
Mockery:
In general, irony is the perception of a clash between appearance and reality, between seems and is, or between ought and is. The myriad shadings of irony seem to fall into three categories: (1) Verbal irony-saying something contrary to what it means; the appearance is what the words say, the reality is their contrary meaning. (2) Dramatic irony-saying or doing something while unaware of its ironic contrast with the whole truth; named for its frequency in drama, dramatic irony is a verbal irony with the speaker's awareness erased. (3) Situational irony-events turning to the opposite of what is expected or what should be. The ironic situation turns the speaker's unknowing words ironic. Situational irony is the essence of both comedy and tragedy: the young lovers run into the worst possible luck, until everything clears up happily; the most noble spirits go to their death, while the featherheads survive.
出自:联大 >> 信阳师范学院-英国文学史