Lesson 6 — Activity 3: Irony and Allusion

Irony

Irony is the literary device writers use when they say one thing but mean the opposite of what they say, or when something occurs that is the opposite of what we expect to happen. Writers may choose to use irony to make us aware that life does not always turn out the way we expect it, or to give us a hint about their message. We might think more deeply about a story that has an ironic twist to it because we will wonder why the writer used this device.

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Two more literary devices writers use to help communicate their messages are irony and allusion.

An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to people, places, events, or literary works directly or by implying them. It is up to the audience to make the connection.

For example, "He's a real Romeo with the ladies" alludes to the literary work Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

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This is an example of irony:

A man looked out of the window to see the storm intensify. He turned to his friend and said “wonderful weather we’re having!”

There are three types of irony:

Dramatic Irony — this occurs when the reader or audience understands more about the events of a story than a character.

For example, in Romeo and Juliet, when the characters think that Juliet is dead but the audience knows that she has only been knocked out by a sleeping potion.

Situational Irony — this occurs when what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected or appropriate.

For example, a man who is a traffic cop gets his license suspended for unpaid parking tickets.

Verbal Irony — A character says one thing but really means the opposite.

For example, a lady who has just been pulled over says, “Thanks for the ticket officer. You just made my day!”

Allusion is the literary device writers use when they make a reference in their work to other literary works or events in history. They do this to help us understand their message because it is a way to reinforce their meaning. For example, a writer might give a character a name that we know or are familiar with from another story to help us understand more about the character. We will likely assume that there are similarities between the two characters because they have the same name.

This is an example of allusion:

Don't be a Scrooge!

(reference to A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens)

Click here to go to a website that shows cartoons using irony and allusion.