Irony

Irony is a form of expression in which an implicit meaning is concealed or contradicted by the explicit meaning of the expression. Irony involves the perception that things are not what they are said to be or what they seem. Dramatic irony lies in the audience's deeper perceptions of a coming fate, which contrast with a character's lack of knowledge about it.

Etymology

The Greek etymology of the word irony, είρωνεία (eironeia), means feigned ignorance (a technique often used by the Greek philosopher Socrates, see further), from είρων (eiron), the one who makes a question pretending to be naïve, and είρειν is also a verb radical of the Greek "to speak". The verb είρειν (eirein) itself is probably from the Proto-Indo-European root *wer- say.

Related Topics:
Greek - Socrates - Proto-Indo-European

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