Blog Writing: Situational Irony

This essay comprehensively defines and explains situational irony as a literary device, differentiating it from dramatic and verbal irony. It delves into numerous examples from literature and film, including works by O. Henry, Coleridge, Kate Chopin, Guy de Maupassant, and others, showcasing how situational irony creates unexpected plot twists and engages the audience. The essay highlights the significance of situational irony in enhancing storytelling, creating suspense, humor, and tragedy, and leaving a lasting impact on the reader. It emphasizes the element of surprise and the contrast between expected and actual outcomes as key components of situational irony's effectiveness.

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Situational Irony
2nd August 2019
What is Situational Irony?
Situational Irony is defined as a literary device which can easily be identified in any literary
works. It takes place when some incongruity occurs between what happens actually and
expectations of something to happen. When the audiences observe something opposite to
their expectations taking place, or the actual outcome is just the opposite of the expectations
of the audiences, situational irony takes place. Situational irony includes sharp contradictions
and contrast. That aim of the situation of irony is to allow the audiences and the readers to
develop a contrast for the contradiction between realities and appearances. It is associated
with the main theme of the story. Situational irony is a technique used in literary works in
which the written or stated contents are different from what the readers and audiences expect.
Situational irony needs expectation of an individual to be thwarted, but in such cases,
situational irony takes place when the expected outcome does not occur in real, or something
entirely different happens. Situational irony is also termed as the irony of events. The
outcomes of situational irony can be humorous or tragic, but in the majority of the cases, the
outcome is always unexpected. Situational irony involves a situation where the actions have
opposite effects on what was expected or intended which makes the outcome entirely
contradictory to the expected outcome. Here, the audience and readers do not have the
knowledge of what is going to happen in real.
Situational irony is observed when the events or actions have opposite outcomes to that of the
expected outcomes or intended results. Situational irony is a relatively modern literary device
which is used to describe a sharp contradiction or discrepancy between the actual and
expected results in some particular situations. Situational irony is always used to create a
turning point which seems to be highly shocking for surprising to the readers and the
audience. The stories or movies or plays in which situational irony is used can lead the
readers and audiences in expecting a particular ending or resolution. If such an outcome fails
and the readers and audience observe something contradictory then it is because of the use of
situational irony. The discrepancy or contradiction in perspective is the result of situational

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irony. The audience and the readers believe something to happen and suddenly they find
opposite events to happen, it can be said that situational irony has been used. In most of the
cases, situational irony is considered to be a coincidence. A simple example can be given to
make this term quite easy to understand. If a married couple having irreconcilable differences
take the help of legal procedures to get legally separated, the audience or the readers can
easily expect the outcome or the result. But the turning point can be created by using
situational irony when the readers and audiences would become highly shocked seeing the
couple do not get separated but decided to start afresh because of their bonding of love. In
this case, the readers and the audiences would be delighted to see the happy ending and also
would be surprised. The contradiction between the expected and actual outcomes in a literary
work or movie is created by the use of situational irony.
Difference between Situational, Dramatic and Verbal Irony
Situational irony is quite different from that of dramatic irony and verbal irony. Situational
irony takes place in a situation where the outcome is different from the expected outcome. In
the case of verbal irony, a speaker uses some speech contents to mean or feel something quite
different from what he or she says. Sarcasm is widely used in the case of verbal irony. Verbal
irony can be intentional from the end of the speaker. But in the case of a situation of irony,
the involvement of the leading actors of characters in obscuring the situational truth is not
mandatory. Dramatic irony is another piece of literary device which is used by the authors on
moviemakers in developing a turning point in the story where the audiences are given
maximum information which is not provided to the actors or characters of the work. But in
the case of the situation on irony the irony lies in the contrast between the realities and
appearances in situations.
Examples of Situational Irony
A famous example of O Henry’s “the Gift of the Magi”, we can find the use of situational
irony. In the story, Jim has sold his watch to purchase a comb for Della, his wife. On the
other hands, Della has also sold her beautiful cascade-like hair to purchase a chain for her
husband's watch. This is an example showing situational irony where the outcomes are
completely different from what has been expected by the readers and audiences. Another
example can be given from Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. Here we can see
the ocean of water is surrounding the men but they were dying out of thirst. In Kate Chopin's

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"The Story of an Hour”, we can see a wife who comes to know about the death of her
husband feels a sense of liberty as she considers her life to be without any restriction after her
husband's death. But she dies out of shock when she sees her husband to return who was not
dead. In Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace”, we can see a woman borrowing a costly
necklace from one of her friends but losers it. She thinks the necklace to be a very expensive
one. When she loses the necklace, she along with her husband makes some sacrifices to
replace the necklace. Later on, they come to know that the necklace which she borrowed was
a fake one. In these cases, we can see the intended outcomes are quite different or
contradictory from what has been predicted or expected. Situational irony is used in literary
works and we can also find in different movies and films. Situational irony is used to create a
contradiction to attract the audiences' interests to the main theme of the story.
There can be several other examples where the use of situational irony can be observed. In
Romeo and Juliet, situational irony takes place when Romeo kills himself seeing Juliet dead.
But Juliet was drugged. When Juliet awakens, she finds Romeo dead and commits suicide.
This is an ironic situation because both Romeo and Juliet have killed themselves with a
mistaken assumption which has led to a tragic outcome which is quite different from
expectations of the readers and audiences regarding the happy ending of the lovers. In the
famous series of Harry Potter, which is one of the most famous novel series, we can find the
situation and irony has been employed. There are a total of seven series and the readers and
the audiences believe that Voldemort can be killed by Harry Potter. Voldemort is the evil
Lord. But the audiences are shocked by the end of the series when it becomes quite clear that
Harry Potter allows Voldemort to kill Harry so that the soul of Voldemort could attain
mortality once again. Therefore, Harry Potter allows Voldemort to kill him which is opposite
to that of the audiences’ expectations. In this case, the author of the novel has used situational
irony quite skilfully and it has added a turning point to the story.
Author L. Frank Baum has also used situational irony in the story of “The Wonderful Wizard
of Oz”. In the story, the audiences could see Dorothy be going to the wizard intending to find
a way home with the thought that she can find the way to her home by herself. In this story,
the readers have come across many situational ironies. Scarecrow has wished to become more
intelligent but he identifies himself as a perfect genius. The woodsman also considers himself
incapable of loving but he realized that he can love anyone with a good heart. The Lion also
appears to be a coward but turns out to be courageous and fearless. Also, we can find several
situational ironies which have resulted in some outcomes different from what the readers

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have apprehended or expected. In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot, Eliot
has made a comparison between natural image and painful modern medical procedures. This
is an example of situational irony because the author has used the natural image to depict the
contrast between the corrupted modern world and natural beauty.
In another famous movie, “The Sixth Sense”, the situational irony has been used quite
effectively making the entire movie thrilling. In the movie, the audiences see a child, Cole to
be seeing some people who are dead. The people whom Cole could see appeared to be living
and real to the audiences but on the end of the movie the audiences realize that they all were
dead people and this is the use of situational irony. The use of situational irony is done to
create something shocking and unexpected. In another short story written by Nadine
Gordimer, “Once Upon a Time”, where we can find the use of situation oil irony. The
extreme efforts of the family to protect their belongings have ended up in destroying one of
the members of the family. Again in “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, it can be
observed that the fire which has been used in killing ultimately ended up saving the boys. In
both these cases, the ending is quite surprising and unexpected. The readers can apprehend
about the ending of the story but the actual ending remains unexpected which is the success
of situational irony.
Situational irony any also can be wonderfully used in stories. In a short story, “The Storm”,
the use of situational irony can be found to be highly successful. In the story, the readers
would find the main character to be initially seeking shelter to safe from the storm but at the
end, the storm serves as her refuge. The ending is surprising and there the use of situational
irony becomes successful. In Alfred Hitchcock movies, situational irony is always used along
with dramatic irony. In another short story by Connell, “Most Dangerous Game”, the readers
get shocked and surprised when they observe the hunter ultimately becomes the hunted, but
when the readers look back at the strange turning point of the events they could realize that
the author has already prepared the readers for this development with little foreshadowing. It
is the predictability and surprise which increases the literature success and enjoyment of the
readers. The readers can only predict and guess about the storyline or its ending but they
automatically end up with surprises or shocks. This is the main element used in situational
irony. The surprise state by situational irony can also create delightful ending or can bring
tears in the eyes of the readers and audiences.

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Significance of Situational Irony
The main purpose of using a situation on irony is to put an emphasis on significant scenes
and to develop unusual images. The main purpose of using a situation on irony is to put an
emphasis on significant scenes and to develop strange and unusual images vivid. It helps in
creating an unexpected turn which increases the worth of the work. The situational irony
makes the audiences and the readers either sad or happy. The outcomes of situational irony
can be funny or tragic. The writers use strong connections in words with the help of
situational irony and adding fresh variations, thoughts, and embellishments to their literary
works. Situational irony can result in more tragic situations from most comic situations. The
use of situation allied any mainly creates an unexpected turning point in the story or the plot
for the good of the story. Sometimes situational irony takes place because readers and
audiences identify certain situations and events as odd or unfair. An author would use
situational irony to create surprise in the readers and audience and to make them feel shocked
so that the story remains attractive. The audiences would like to watch the end of a movie if
the author or movie-makers successfully engage them by creating a twist and turning point.
This can be done with the help of situational irony. There are many plays or stories where we
can find the use of situational irony along with verbal or dramatic irony.
The unexpected outcomes of any situation give the readers and audience a surprising turning
point which increases the connection between the storyline and audience or readers. Authors
use situation of irony in creating suspense, humor, tragedy, and comedy. This literary device
can be used as an allegory, illusion, advancing the plot, exposition, developing character, and
juxtaposition. All these are very important in engaging the readers and audience to the
literary works or movies. To create humor and suspense or in keeping the audiences and
readers interested, the use of situational irony by the authors is commonly found. By using
general irony tone in situational irony, a story can be made more interesting to the audiences
and readers. The authors or the movie makers skilfully implement situational irony in their
works to surprise the readers and audience by some unexpected events which are opposite to
what has been expected by the audiences and readers. The authors deliberately use situational
irony in their works in creating the twist and turning points. The audience could observe in a
movie that some Chinese scientists are trying to make something which could create
immortality but they end up creating something like gunpowder. Here, the audiences could

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watch the movie with simple apprehension about the outcome but suddenly get shocked by
the actual outcomes.
A simple story can be made memorable or surprising which could leave an emotional touch
in the audiences or readers. The use of situational irony is quite significant in literary works
and also in movies because it is the main aim of the creators to engage the readers and
audiences and to leave an everlasting impact on them. The suspense can be created with the
help of dramatic irony but surprise can be created by the use of situational irony. In the case
of situational irony, the audiences and the readers do not have any idea about the facts and
they rely on their guesses or apprehensions. When they realize to observe the actual
happening, it becomes more impactful to the readers and audience and the authors gain the
desired success. Situational irony can also be tragic, humorous, or didactic where it subverts
expectations of the readers and audiences. In a situation of irony, contradictions are always
observed with an unexpected twist. In different forms or genre of literature, the use of
situational irony is observed to be creating thrillers or mysteries. Situational irony is an
important literary device which is widely used in creating a twist in the story to make the
audience and readers surprised. The contradiction between the realities and expectations is
created for betterment.