English Literature

Many people have problems with irony, both in their everyday lives and as it is used or deployed in literature. We learn early on at school about "dramatic irony", that is, we are told, when the audience of a play is aware of some situation or circumstance, or has information that one or more characters in the play do not. If you like, you are sharing a secret with the writer you are in the know. Perhaps, as you go about your daily business, irony is not so clear-cut. Here's an example: your neighbour draws your attention to how lovely the dandelions and daisies growing in your lawn is. Now, to someone not familiar with the care and attention many English people give to their gardens, this might need a bit of explanation. Lawns are grass and are cut and rolled regularly so that a professional golfer could practice his putting on it. Daisies and dandelions are weeds. For a moment but just for a moment, you wonder how serious your neighbour is being. Does he really think the weeds are lovely or is he telling you in a rather superior way that you're a lousy gardener?