Sunday, 20 August 2017

The Difference between irony/satire/sarcasm

Irony, satire, and sarcasm  all fall into the category of, "That's funny but I'm not sure what my English teacher wants me to call it."

▪️ Irony describes situations that are strange or funny because things happen in a way that seems to be the opposite of what you expected. Note the "opposite" here. If an expectation is black, then an ironic outcome would be white, not off-white or gray.

▪️ Satire means making fun of people by imitating them in ways that expose their stupidity or flaws.

▪️ As with satire, sarcasm depends on the listener or reader to be in on the joke. Sarcasm is insincere speech. Your mom asks if you're excited to start cleaning the kitchen and you say, "Yeah, right," when you mean "Heck no."

❕ To distinguish  irony  from  satire  and  sarcasm,  remember that irony pertains to situations while satire and sarcasm are forms of expression. People make satire and sarcasm happen. Irony is just there.

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