Definition of Irony Essay - 652 Words

Definition of Irony Irony is a word that has been around in my life since I was six years old. I remember it exactly, the day that the word entered my vocabulary. My mom and I were driving to my grandma’s house and I was reading a â€Å"Calvin and Hobbes† comic from the paper earlier that morning. Calvin had been saving a snowball in the freezer for 4 months and was going to use it. He snuck up on his nemesis, Suzy, and threw it as hard as he could, and missed. He goes into hysterics, wondering how he could have missed that perfect shot, while, at the same time Suzy is scooping up the pile of snow lying in front of her. Calvin turns in time to see Suzy grinning as she hurls it in his face. The last panel has Calvin lying on the ground†¦show more content†¦This means that you can make fun of someone, and make them feel really dumb, which is something that the media loves to do. The T.V. shows â€Å"Saturday Night Live†, â€Å"Friends†, â€Å"Fraiser†, and â₠¬Å"The Simpsons† are all perfect examples of irony. â€Å"Fraiser† is a show that loves to use the concept of irony to play with the characters of the show, getting them into some precarious situations. Irony in entertainment isn’t something new though. In greek tragedies, famous playwrights used irony to entertain audiences for years. Sophicles used irony in one of his most famous plays, â€Å"Oedipus† where a young couple, who were King and Queen of a land, were told by a prophecy that their son would kill the father. Frightened by this knowledge, they took their son and chained him to a mountain far away. A shepherd found the boy and raised him as his own. The boy grew to become a man, and, while walking on a path, was told to move so that a royal coach may pass. He didn’t want to move and ended up killing all of the guards and the king himself. He then ventured to the next town, which happened to be the city where his parents ruled, and wound up marrying the queen. When they found out what had happened, he took a pin and jabbed out his eyes. The Greeks knew that word as ironia, which is latin. They knew it to mean dissimulation, ignorance purposely aff ected. Probably the most famous greek to useShow MoreRelatedThe dictionary definition of satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose1100 Words   |  5 PagesThe dictionary definition of satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize peoples stupidity or vices. Particularly, in the context of contemporary politics or other topical issues. If one were to examine contemporary culture today they would notice that it is becoming more and more satirized. One could argue this by turning on any program and listening for hidden messages alluding to some cause or political reference. 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