1 - Introduction

Summary

The notion of irony is difficult to pinpoint precisely, as we use it to characterize very diverse elements. In this first introductory chapter I introduce several real instances which can easily be laveled ironic. Focusing on their similarities and differences, we can start understanding how the different types of irony relate to each other. Sometimes it is an event or a happening that we call ironic --this sort of case is normally non-intentional and it is called situational irony. In many stories or literary works the narrator plays by hiding some information from the characters, while the readers are aware of their ignorance --this is what we call dramatic irony. When someone has the intention to communicate something ironically, usually using language to do so, then that is an instance of verbal irony. From a pragmatic standpoint, we are interested on analyzing the latter, as a form of human communication.