8. Irony, Sarcasm, Grotesque, Paradox

Question 1

What’s satire?

Answer 1

A genre of literature, graphic, performing arts;
It’s intentions is to ridicule into improvement;
A kind of constructive criticism, using irony/sarcasm;

Question 2

What’s irony?

Answer 2

Means contradiction between appearance and reality.

Question 3

Define the old and new meaning of irony.

Answer 3

It used to mean “saying less than is meant”, which later got known as litotes.
Now it means “the contrary to what is meant”.

Question 4

Define irony according to I.Galperin.

Answer 4

Irony is about the opposition between dictionary and contextual meaning. Ex: “It must be delightful to find oneself in a foreign country without a PENNY IN ONE’S POCKET”. The word “delightful” is opposite to its dictionary meaning and contextually implies “undelightful”.

Question 5

Define types of irony.

Answer 5

1. Verbal. It means saying one thing, meaning another. The speaker is intentional, unlike situational and dramatic irony;
2. Dramatic. You know something the characters don’t;
3. Situational. Expectation vs Reality;
4. Cosmic. Irony of fate;
5. Historic. A subset of cosmic irony, but time is at play;

Question 6

What’s sarcasm?

Answer 6

It’s direct, sharp, offensive.
Doesn’t necessarily involve irony just like vise versa. But it CAN be ironic and indirect, too. Ex: “the cat likes its tail pulled”, “my dear… you are ugly”.

Question 7

Bring an example of ironic simile.

Answer 7

“as soft as concrete”.

Question 8

What’s grotesque?

Answer 8

It’s fantastic exaggeration, comically distorted, uncanny, surreal, absurd, dark satire (mocking reality in a disturbing way).
Could bring weird contrast, mixing beauty with horror, humor with terror.
Evokes bizarreness, is uncomfortable.
Is presented in art, literature, can be considered as a genre.

Question 9

What’s paradox? What’s the etymology of the term paradox?

Answer 9

From Greek “para” (beyond) + “doxa” (opinion).
It’s a statement, contradictory on the surface with an element of truth.

Question 10

What are the (three) types of paradox?

Answer 10

1. Pure. Can’t be explained: “There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart’s desire. The other is to get it.”
2. Logical. Contradictory ideas with truth. They are logical: “The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield it. Resist it and your soul grows sick <…>”. The first sentence is paradox with the explanation following it.
3. Paradoxial epigrams. Do not need explanation. Based on interlay of words or on contrastive words: “People ask for criticism but they only need praise.

Question 11

What’s the literary/artistic use of paradox?

Answer 11

They imply no contradiction and may be used to describe situations that are ironic.

Question 12

Describe (two) types of paradox.

Answer 12

1. Falsidical paradoxes. Valid, logical demonstration of absurdities. They are based on errors. Once you uncover the mistakes, the paradox disappears.
2. Veridical paradoxes. Reveal surprising truths.