Irony and Symbolism

Understatement

Understatement is making something seem less than what it is. It downplays a catastrophe.

Example:
The grave's a fine and private place, but none I think do there embrace. Andrew Marvel in "To His Coy Mistress" (1621-1678)

Irony


Irony is the opposite of what is expected; it implies wry amusement, sarcasm, deceit, or mockery. 

It is the use of the opposite of what is expected; it implies wry amusement, sarcasm, deceit, or mockery. It refers to the difference between the way something appears and what actually is true. In poetry, irony is indirect but often can be detected by tone.
“An Irony is a nipping [joke] or a speech that has the honey of pleasant[ness] in its mouth, and a sting of rebuke in its tai[l].”
(E. Reyner Rules Govt. Tongue 227)


Self-Assessment

Identify the irony in the photo and poem below.

A snow bird
escaping Alberta’s winter woe
in January
penned these words:

You deceitful treacherous
Desert!

Oh snow!

In both the photo and poem, the snow is unexpected in Arizona.
Richard Cory
Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869-1935)

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
'Good-morning,' and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich - yes, richer than a king -
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.

Richard Cory appears rich, handsome, and people envy him. One night, he unexpectedly commits suicide.

Symbol


Symbolism is a concrete object that represents a concept or idea. 


Example:     An olive branch, a dove or this symbol  represent peace.


Symbols can be simplistic:


A horse may represent hard work.
 
A bear may represent a grouchy attitude.@Pixabay

… or more complex:
red rose                        A red rose may represent love or passion.                     
  white rose
                       A white rose may represent mourning or friendship.                     

If an object has meaning beyond dictionary  information, it likely is a symbol. 


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