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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—America and England:
Throughout “The Canterville Ghost,” Wilde consistently pokes fun at the differences between American culture and British culture. The structure of the satire itself supports this infusion of humor, demonstrating the clash between “old world” and “new world” values through the Otis family’s reaction to Gothic and supernatural elements. In the following passage from Chapter 1, the narrator remarks on this clash between “old world” and “new world,” or European and American, through the use of verbal irony:
Many American ladies on leaving their native land adopt an appearance of chronic ill-health, under the impression that it is a form of European refinement, but Mrs. Otis had never fallen into this error. She had a magnificent constitution, and a really wonderful amount of animal spirits. Indeed, in many respects, she was quite English, and was an excellent example of the fact that we have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language.
Related Themes:
