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Definition of Verbal Irony
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging outside and someone remarks "what... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean... read full definition
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Property Value:
In Chapter 1, Riis takes the time to recount a recent case of landlord exploitation, lest people assert that such evils are of "a day that is happily past and may safely be forgotten." Riis utilizes his trademark verbal irony in this passage when discussing the landlord’s actions:
The fire made homeless ten families, who had paid an average of $5 a month for their mean little cubby-holes. The owner himself told me that it was fully insured for $800, though it brought him in $600 a year in rent. He evidently considered himself especially entitled to be pitied for losing such valuable property.
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