1 - Irony: medieval and modern

Summary

The purpose of this chapter is to examine a working definition of irony which is suitable for the interpretation of ironic texts, with particular reference to medieval literature. My starting point is the work of Dennis Green on irony in the medieval romance, but I will also draw upon the theoretical work of Vladimir Jankélévitch and D. C. Muecke. Green defines irony in Irony in the Medieval Romance:

irony is a statement, or presentation of an action or situation, in which the real or intended meaning conveyed to the initiated intentionally diverges from, and is incongruous with, the apparent or pretended meaning presented to the uninitiated.

(p. 9)

I found this definition to be the most satisfactory of those used by scholars to examine irony in medieval literature; the reasons for this will emerge during the course of this chapter.

As the meaning of the English word ‘irony’ is not the same as that of the classical and medieval Latin word ironia, I shall begin with a brief survey of the medieval theory of ironia and related figures and tropes, with a view to showing the theory of irony a troubadour might have known. The broader modern view of irony will then be examined and this will be followed by a discussion of the particular problems posed by positing the presence of irony in medieval literature and particularly in the troubadour lyric.

THE MEDIEVAL THEORY OF IRONY

There are no examples of the word irony in Old French or Occitan treatises on literary composition before the fourteenth century.