"Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink ;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink."
And all the boards did shrink ;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink."
Readers are often "in" on the irony, and that only adds to the tension in the story. Then there are the surprise ironies as in the movie, The Sixth Sense. Brrrr!
What irony has intrigued you in books or movies?
I remember enjoying The Ancient Mariner when my kids studied it.
ReplyDeleteWould you believe I've never seen The Sixth Sense? Someone once "spoiled" the ending so I never saw the point in watching it.
Great "I" word, Lee.
I really don't appreciate it when people ruin a story for me. It's a spooky movie, even if you do know the twist at the end.
DeleteGood to see you today.
One ironic circumstance is in Romeo and Juliet. Romeo kills himself because he thinks Juliet is dead.
ReplyDeleteI read your post and was going to mention Romeo and Juliet then noticed that Gossip_Grl already had. I can’t think of any more so will slink away! (hangs head in shame!)
ReplyDeleteR & J a good one, most 'love stories' involve some irony. It's what makes luv so interesting.
ReplyDeleteOh, Gossip Grl took mine - I was thinking Romeo and Juliet, too.
ReplyDeleteThe Ransom of Red Chief comes to mind, how the parents of the kidnapped boy will pay the kidnappers to keep him! Or The Gift of the Magi.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the power lay not in Dorothy's shoes but in her belief about them.
ReplyDeleteAll great examples of irony! (Someone told me about the Sixth Sense before I saw it, so that kind of ruined the surprise for me.)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy the irony in Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series. Poor Sookie has never been able to have normal relationships with others due to the fact that she can hear every thought in their minds. Then vampires come into her life and the blankness she gets from the vampire mind is pure bliss to her, except for the little problem of the added danger to her as a result of her involvement with them.
ReplyDeleteThose are such awesome examples! I prefer when the irony doesn't hit you over the head. When the author leaves it up to you to figure out.
ReplyDeleteNarnia books are full of irony. The murder of Aslan the Lion is a huge irony.
ReplyDeleteCan't think of a book, but the best irony I've seen was in the movie The Usual Suspect when the bad guy was right there the whole time and no one knew it. (Sorry, hope I didn't just ruin the movie for you!)
ReplyDeleteI think irony adds an interesting aspect to the story.
ReplyDeleteI just read in your header about your upcoming, mg Alligators Overhead. Congrats, Lee!!
For Harry Potter 5, Harry had that mirror and could've contact Sirius anytime.
ReplyDeleteOne example that comes to mind is Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov. Actually, many of Asimov's stories have irony in them; sometimes it's more obviously amusing, and other times it's subtle.
ReplyDeleteAs soon I started reading this post, I forgot every example of irony I ever knew. Sad..
ReplyDeleteFellow A-Zer: http://libbyheily.blogspot.com/
I love irony. And the examples you cited are great. Also, Boo Radley saving Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird is ironic, right?
ReplyDeleteI love when a character's flaw becomes the tool to save the day, that's a good use of irony.
ReplyDeleteThose are great examples, and from a favorite poem of mine and a beloved story. Great "I" post.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching The Sixth Sense, my husband and I had to go back and see it again, for we disagreed on whether Bruce Willis was dead through much of the action of the film. So what's ironic depends on good information! Nice pick for this 9th day of A - Z. Persevere!
ReplyDeleteI can't thing of anything off hand than what's already been mentioned. Irony in a story should irritate you as a reader but it doesn't, maybe we expect something along those lines.
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