Previous
Unreliable Narrator
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 3
Explanation and Analysis—Inside Joke:
In Chapter 3, the narrator squirms in secondhand awkwardness while Mrs. Van Hopper makes a fool of herself in front of Maxim. By the end of the scene, Maxim uses verbal irony and dramatic irony to establish rapport with the narrator at Mrs. Van Hopper's expense:
He got up at once, pushing back his chair. “Don’t let me keep you,” he said. “Fashions change so quickly nowadays they may even have altered by the time you get upstairs.”
The sting did not touch her, she accepted it as a pleasantry.
Related Themes:
