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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 19
Explanation and Analysis—Pregnant Words:
In Chapter 19, when Godfrey Cass and Nancy offer Eppie a home and reveal that Godfrey is her true father, Silas is horrified at the prospect of having another Cass steal his "gold" from him. This time, though, it's because he has become a father in every way that matters to Eppie, and Eliot uses a metaphor to underline how seriously he takes that relationship:
‘Just the same?’ said Marner, more bitterly than ever. ‘How’ll she feel just the same for me as she does now, when we eat o’ the same bit, and drink o’ the same cup, and think o’ the same things from one day’s end to another? Just the same? that’s idle talk. You’d cut us i’ two.’ Godfrey, unqualified by experience to discern the pregnancy of Marner’s simple words, felt rather angry again.
Related Themes:
