A type of rhetoric in which there is a deliberate and obvious disparity or incongruity between the statement made and its intent, as when we say one thing, but mean the opposite of what we say. When somebody says, âlovely weather weâre havingâ, and it is raining, they are being ironic. Irony in this sense is a very close relative of sarcasm. But it can take more complex forms and its intent does not always have to be humour. For instance, when Romeo kills himself because he thinks Juliet is dead, that is also ironic. Literary theory distinguishes at least five types (or trope) of irony: (i) verbal irony---the simplest form involving a discrepancy between statement and intent (e.g. sarcasm); (ii) structural irony---a more complex or extended form in which a characterâs world-view is at odds with the world they find themselves in (e.g. Sadeâs Justine, or Good Conduct Well Chastised (1791), which is doubly ironic in that the author is clearly unsympathetic towards his naive heroine who is constantly surprised by the cruelties and injustices meted out to her); (iii) dramatic irony---routinely found in TV sitcoms, it involves a situation in which the audience possesses more information than the characters on stage (all pantomimes play on this, with the audience deriving great amusement from knowing the monster is behind the hero, who for some reason is unable to see the monster for himself); (iv) tragic irony---a version of dramatic irony in which the audience can see that a characterâs course of action is destined not to have the outcome the character thinks it will (e.g. Arthur Millerâs Death of a Salesman (1949); (v) cosmic irony---a version of dramatic irony in which it seems that despite the best intentions of characters, fate is always going to crush their dreams (e.g. Thomas Hardyâs Jude the Obscure (1895). Further Reading: C. Colebrook Irony (2003).