Irony

Rachel Giora
Table of contents

What is irony? How does it differ from sarcasm and cynicism? According to Kreuz, irony may be used to comment on odd juxtapositions of events (e.g., the person who dies the day after winning a lottery; the memory expert who forgets where his car is parked); sarcasm is the use of irony to remind others of such juxtapositions (e.g., the friend who has not been helpful; the waiter who has not been attentive); cynicism refers to the chronic interpretation of events as ironic, and the expression of these events via sarcasm.

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