Ever since Alanis Morissette released her song "Ironic," people have started buzzing about the true
Irony confuses, and like the two p's and satire, which will be addressed momentarily, it depends somewhat on the intention of the writer or speaker.
Irony requires an opposing meaning between what's said and what's intended. Stop. Think about that for a long moment. Even the definition is somewhat head-scratching, so if you often find yourself confused by irony, you're in excellent company. One of the confounding factors of irony isn't just that its definition is a bit, well, complex, but also the sheer number of possibilities for correct usage. It's bad enough that irony is hard to grasp but now add to that fact that there are, in fact, a multitude of definitions for different forms of irony, including verbal, dramatic, and cosmic. The sheer plethora of ways ironic can be used meaningfully suggests that is something of a "catch-all" for a situation that seems odd, upsetting or amusing. Enter Ms. Morissette...
1. VERBAL IRONY: when a speaker or writer is intentionally using words that literally convey the opposite of their true beliefs, generally for the purpose of "cosmic" emphasis (sarcasm). In fact, there is a strong overlap between sarcasm and comic irony. Example: Saying "Oh, that's just fantastic," when the situation is really poor. OR Dimmesdale's sermons about how sinful he is, and how he deserves disgust resulting in the congregation loving him and following him even more.
2. SITUATIONAL IRONY: A sharp divergence between expectations or perceptions and reality. Expectations, of course, often differ from results, but to rise to the state of irony, the gulf between them should be vast and the contrast sharp. (See the wedding example above with Ms. Morissette's song breakdown).
3. DRAMATIC IRONY: Perhaps the easiest to understand as its use is so specialized. The device in which the reader or audience is tipped off to a crucial fact still unknown to one or more of the characters. Example: The audience and friar know that Juliet isn't really dead, but Romeo doesn't.
*5. HISTORICAL IRONY: Some things become ironic with time. If the passage of years creates an amusing juxtaposition between a historical event or claim and what has happened since to contradict it. Example: Isn't it ironic that the inventor of the machine gun thought his new weapon would end all war?" Answer: YES! It is, in fact, historically ironic. :)
*6. SOCRATIC IRONY: The pretense of ignorance used to draw an opponent into slipping up or revealing flaws in their argument. Example: She used socratic questioning in order to enable him to realize the holes in his emphatic argument.
How's that for confusing? If that isn't enough, irony is only one way to bring in humor or thought-provoking elements in literature. There are also parody, pastiche, and satire....Buckle up, here we go!
PARODY: An imitative work created to mock, comment on or trivialize an original work, its subject author, style or some other target, by means of imitation. Example: The movie "Airplane" is a parody of 1970's disaster movies. Example #2: Most everything created by Weird Al Yankovic.
PASTICHE: A work of visual art, literature, or music that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, the intention of pastiche is to celebrate rather than mock. Example: Many modern artists seek to produce works of impressionism in homage to Renoir and Monet, who are very much beloved.
SATIRE: A genre of literature and art in which the vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations or society, itself, into improvement. Although funny, its intention is to shame or offer constructive social criticism. Examples: The Daily Show, most political cartoons
Just for fun, the definition of cynicism, or cynical, is an inclination to believe that people are motivated purely by self-interest. It is a form of skepticism that often leads to the production of satire.
There you have it! Here's to understanding the various ways authors, speakers, poets and artists humor us, pay homage to us, and humiliate us in all sorts of creative and confounding ways!
1. Did you find any examples of true irony in the Morissette song? Give me an example of irony in something you have heard or read. What type of irony is it? Why?
2. What are each of the funny little videos an example of and why?
3. Which of the previous definitions confused you the most? What literary device do you find most confusing?
Alanis Morissette: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jne9t8sHpUc
Tim Hawkins Video #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5R8gSgedh4
Tim Hawkins Video #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO2eh6f5Go0
1) I think that the instance of "Mr. Play it Safe" dying on his first plane ride and thinking "Well isn't this nice" is a double example of irony. His death is situational irony and his comment on it is verbal irony.
ReplyDelete2) The first Tim Hawkins video parodies famous songs put into the context of children's songs, playing heavily on satire between the lyrics and the images attached in the video. The second video is a parody of the song "Candy Man", using Uncle Sam, that is essentially insulting the government and everything they do.
3) I found Socratic irony to be the most confusing, I think that you worded it a bit strangely. I do use this fairly often, mainly amongst my friends. I think that the hardest to identify is historical irony, as it requires at least a basic understanding of the historical context and not everyone will have that. I think that can also be applied to some cultural irony (if reading/watching something from a different country, references can go over our heads).
Really? Hmm, I thought that my wording on Socratic irony was pretty clear per the definition, but it can be a difficult type to understand conceptually. I agree that "Mr. Play it Safe" saying "Isn't that nice" as the plane crashes is verbal irony, but I do not see the example as a whole as situational irony. It is not the complete opposite of one might expect. Someone who is afraid of flying and avoiding flying their whole lives, only to finally decide to fly and then crashing is not the opposite of what one would naturally expect. It is a horrible tragedy, but not sure if that is irony. Many critics of the song have said the fact that it is a song called "Irony" that offers very few actual examples of irony could be considered the biggest irony of the song, too! :)
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ReplyDelete1. Within the song, an argument can be made that verbal irony is present when comparing the first and last lines of the song. The first lines read that an old man had won the lottery and died the following day while the last line states the idea that “Life has a funny, funny way helping you out.” The contrast between the man passing given his recent fortune implies sarcastic emphasis in regards to her last line as she notably indicates Life as an entity aiding the listener while the ‘aid’ contradicts the majority of her song. This suggests a purposeful intent of the line contrasting the true meaning of the statement. Given her stance, a further reach could be made for cosmic irony. Under the assumption that this was Alanis’s intent, an extension of her belief that life is an independent existence links to life being against and playing a role in the old man’s demise. Of course, this may be a stretch for an attempt to find purposeful irony. Verbal irony is further used by the line “Isn't this nice” as the comment means the opposite given the circumstances. I find verbal irony to be the most prevalent form of irony in my day-to-day conversations such as “The weather is lovely today” when it is 120℉.
ReplyDelete2. The Tim Hawkins songs are an example of parody and satire. One video mocks the government and the other parodies popular children's songs to that of prevalent 90’s artists as the intervals satirically mock music radio. The parodies occur through the imitation of well-known songs altered to his intentions such as critiquing government.
3. The most difficult form of irony for me to understand was situational irony. This was due to the vagueness of what is expected and what occurs as this line can be blurred and distorted depending on the context.
1. In the song, verbal irony emerges when comparing the initial and concluding lines. At first, the lyrics recount the story of an old man winning the lottery only to pass away the next day, whereas the final line suggests that "Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out." The contrast between the man's sudden demise after his stroke of luck and the seemingly optimistic remark about life's helpfulness implies a sarcastic undertone. This is particularly evident as the singer personifies Life as a benevolent force, which contradicts the overall tone of the song. Such juxtaposition suggests a deliberate attempt to highlight the irony inherent in the statement. Furthermore, one could interpret this as an example of cosmic irony, suggesting that the singer views life as an autonomous entity that may work against individuals, as evidenced by the unfortunate fate of the old man.
ReplyDelete2. The songs by Tim Hawkins serve as prime examples of parody and satire. The parodies are achieved through the alteration of well-known melodies to suit Hawkins' comedic intentions, often serving as critiques of the government or satirical commentary on music radio culture.
3. Situational irony proved to be the most challenging form of irony for me to grasp. This difficulty came from the ambiguity surrounding the expectations and outcomes, as the line between what is anticipated and what actually occurs can be blurred and distorted depending on the context.
In Morissette’s song, I found Situational and Cosmic examples of irony. The lines “It’s like rain on your wedding day” and “It’s meeting the man of my dreams and then meeting his beautiful wife” are examples of Situational irony. Both circumstances, a wedding and meeting the man of your dreams, led to an expectation of happiness and for a beautiful, light, future. However, both circumstances are diverted with their reality: rain and having another relationship. With this type of irony, the reality of these circumstances isn’t expected and usually results in a greater, sadder, contrast to the previous expectations. Cosmic irony is exemplified with the lines about “Life”. Like the majority of people, Morissette also blames a higher power for the types of irony that are experienced in everyday life. The reason for these unfortunate events is because “Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you” and “helping you out”. This higher power is against people’s happier expectations and the irony it’s responsible for, might be a way for “Life” to laugh at people.
ReplyDeleteThe first video is an example of Satire. The video uses art and takes the creative liberty to pair children’s songs with rock songs to make fun of children’s music. It might also try to make fun of the simplicity of rock songs as they are able to be paired with more simple songs for adolescents. The other video mocks the government with satire as well. It uses creative liberty and “confidence” in the government to make fun of them. He uses common government sayings and messages the government promotes to mock these statements and try to bring more “truth” to the reality of what the government does. (i’m not sure how they let him get away with it)
Socratic irony is the one that confused me the most. I think that form of irony confuses me the most as it seems to only be really understood once it happens. You might have to be in the circumstance that would lead to/result in Socratic irony in order to understand what it means.
1a. An example of irony in Missonette's song was in the beginning and end, at the start of the song she was walking to her car from the gas station she had stopped at and at the end her car was slowing down and had stalled due to not having and gas; this was a form of situational irony. 1b. The other day i had spent the day cleaning the house so i could have my boyfriend come over, he had then texted me saying he was ready for me to come over to his house, turns out he had cleaned his house as well and there was a communication error. We then decided to go to the park because we wanted to get out in the nice weather. This was a for of situational irony because we had both cleaned our houses at the same time for nothing because we decided to go to the park.
ReplyDelete2a. The first video is a form of Pastiche, this is because it turns kids' lullabies/songs and parodies them with adult artists’ styles to appeal to the child's parents. It isn't necessarily mocking the songs saying it's bad, it was making them better in a way to appeal to the parents. 2b. The second video is a form of Parody, it takes the rhythm of a song and replaces the words with things that people don't like and blames the government for it, all while having a happy tune.
3. For me none of them are necessarily confusing but I do feel like they are just more difficult to remember because of how many there are and guessing which situation goes with which irony gets a little difficult.
1: I couldn’t find any examples of true irony in the Alanis Morrisette song. I even tried to go deeper into the lyric that says “It’s like rain on your wedding day,” by finding out the meaning of rain and seeing if it has the opposite message and significance to a wedding. As it turns out, rain can actually symbolize rebirth and renewal, making it fitting for a wedding, at least symbolically, and making irony have no place in that lyric.
ReplyDelete2: “The Government Can” is a parody of “The Candy Man”, and is a form of verbal and situational irony, as the original song is sung in genuine praise of the Candy Man, while Tim Hawkins is mocking the government by singing sarcastically about how amazing it is that they take all of our money. “Kids’ Rock” is a similar compilation of parodies, but it seems that he is both mocking the simplicity of children's songs while also mocking the styles of each artist and song he chose to parody by over-exaggerating their musical techniques.
3: I am a little bit confused by the first two definitions. I feel like situational irony and verbal irony could be combined, since the definition for verbal irony mentioned a situation being opposite to what someone says, while situational irony could also have to due with expectations based on verbal expression being opposite to the situation.
1. “A death row pardon two minutes too late” from the Alanis Morissette song was an example of situational irony. The executors did not know the man was going to get a pardon and killed him anyway. This is ironic because he was killed and no one involved in the process of killing him knew he would receive a pardon. I often say the word “joy” when I am not happy about a situation or do not want to do something. I remember being told about the personal project for the first time and thinking “joy”. This is verbal irony because I actually was not excited about having to so my personal project. “Joy” in this case has the opposite of its true meaning.
ReplyDelete2. “Kid’s rock” is a compilation of rock songs that are based on children’s stories and nursery rhymes. This is a parody because it is mocking the style of sweet kids stories and making them sound aggressive through roc music. “The Government Can”is a satire saying that the government can do whatever they want. It does not matter what the government is trying to do they aren’t accountable
3. I think cosmic irony is the hardest to understand because I don’t think I have ever encountered an example of this anywhere.
The lines "It's a free ride when you've already paid" from Alanis Morissette's "Ironic" exemplifies Situational Irony. The car passenger has just paid the money they thought was due only to get then the excellent yet slightly belated news that the ride would have been free; the situation is ironic. There is also an element of time in this situation, as is in many ironic situations because if they had waited just a little longer, they might have gotten the good news of the free ride before paying.
ReplyDelete"The Government Can" is a Parady of "The Candy Man," as the song has been cleverly rewritten with lines about how the Government takes people's money in taxes. This video also showcases verbal irony, adding a touch of humor. In the video, Tim Hawkins also talks about eating dishes, and "delicious" pops up on the screen. To most people, eating plates is not an ideal meal. "Kids Rock" is an example of satire and parody, as the songs are taken from the lines of children's rhymes and mock their mundane nature, proposing the solution of "Kids Rock."
I found Cosmic Irony somewhat confusing because I am still unsure if it requires another character to understand the situation as it is or if everyone in the situation can be ignorant of the "higher power" determining their fate.
1) I was able to find an example of true irony in Morissette's music video, specifically in the lines "And as the plane crashed down he thought 'Well isn't this nice...'" These lines in her song are referring to Mr. Play It Safe, who is brought up earlier in the song; he waits his entire life to get on a flight but it ends up crashing and to himself he says, "Well isn't this nice..." Verbal irony is being represented in this part of the song, as he is saying the opposite of how he really feels about the poor situation. He is being sarcastic by rejoicing to himself when the plane is crashing down.
ReplyDelete2) "The Government Can" by Tim Hawkins is a funny little example of satire, as it is making fun of the government through the form of a music video. Although it is meant to be humorous, Hawkins's intention through the video is to socially criticize the government and the way they can do whatever they want. It is meant to emphasize the government's flaws. The "Kids' Rock" video is an example of the use of parody, as it mocks children's songs and rhymes by imitating them in the style of different rock artists. It turns gentle-sounding children's music into loud and aggressive parodies.
3) I found cosmic irony the most confusing, as I have never really seen it being used before. I also did not really understand how it played into the example.
1) The blog states that “Irony requires an opposing meaning between what’s said and what’s intended”. I do not think that examples of “true irony” exist in the song “Ironic”. While there are various instances of what may be considered ironic, the strict definition of irony reveals that there are no true instances of it within the song. Rather than expressing examples of true irony, the song provides various coincidences.
ReplyDeleteAn example of one of these coincidences is the opening line, where an old man dies shortly after winning the lottery. This would be ironic if the author expressed a contradiction between what was expected and what transpired.
Another example of a coincidence in the song is a traffic jam when someone is already late. This is another example of coincidence, rather than irony. Irony would have involved a contradiction between what was expected and what occurred. In this case, clear roads when one is late versus further delay due to traffic.
The only example in the song where I could see someone arguing irony (particularly verbal irony) is when Mr. Play It Safe thinks “Well, isn’t this nice” as his plane is crashing. This could be argued as both verbal & situational irony because the audience knows his feelings about flying (he was afraid). His feelings directly contradict his statement about the plane crash being “nice”. However, in the eyes of literary critics, this example could be seen as sarcasm, rather than true verbal/situational irony.
An example of situational irony I have heard is in the fifth track of Taylor Swift’s “folklore”. The fifth track, titled “my tears ricochet”, is about an embittered tormentor showing up at the funeral of his fallen object of obsession.
“And if I’m dead to you, why are you at the wake?”
“And when you can’t sleep at night (you hear my stolen lullabies)
“You had to kill me, but it killed you just the same”
This is an example of situational irony. The tormentor, who caused pain and suffering to their object of obsession, now finds themselves tormented and haunted by the past. This reversal of roles is where the irony is drawn from.
2) I would have to say “Kids’ Rock” is an example of “Pastiche”. This video has popular nursery rhymes sung in the style of various popular 90s rock bands, such as Coldplay & Pearl Jam. Judging from the tone in the video, I did not sense any mocking or hostility towards these bands, but a more light-hearted humorous celebration of these bands.
“The Government Can” seems to be an example of “Satire”, as it is expressing criticism toward the government, but in a relatively fun manner. Using a lighthearted song as the vehicle, Hawkins cleverly expresses society’s discontent with the government. He suggests the government takes advantage of its citizens and pokes fun at the government’s cynical nature.
3) Out of all literary devices that I am familiar with, I would say I struggle with irony the most. I do not think that irony in itself is difficult to identify. I think the struggle for me lies in identifying which form of irony I am seeing/hearing, rather than finding it.
1. The lyrics "A death row pardon two minutes too late" written by Alanis Morissette exemplify situational irony. The executors had no idea the man would be granted a pardon and killed him regardless. This is ironic because he was assassinated without knowing he would be pardoned. I am a very sarcastic person so I find myself using verbal irony on a pretty consistent basis, because I mean the opposite of what I say, or how I say it.
ReplyDelete2. "Kid's Rock" is a collection of rock songs based on children's books and nursery rhymes. This is a parody because it mocks the manner of pleasant children's stories and makes them sound angry using harder music. "The Government Can" is a satirical statement that the government can do whatever they want and will not be held accountable.
3. Cosmic irony is definitely the most difficult to fathom because I have never seen much of an example of it in my daily life.
1. Alanis Morissette's Song: In Alanis Morissette's song "Ironic," one example of irony is the line "It's like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife." This is situational irony because it presents a situation that is unexpected or opposite to what one would typically expect (a spoon when you need a knife).
ReplyDelete2. The song "Kids' Rock" by Tim Hawkins is filled with satire that seems to highlight the difficulties of parenting young children. Tim Hawkins uses many rock music elements and comedic exaggeration to attract listeners while also poking fun at the realities of family life.
3. In "The Giver” by Lois Lowry, an example of irony that can be seen is the societal structure that promotes the idea of, "Sameness". This can be seen as dramatic irony because when readers start to understand the implications and consequences of this enforced “sameness”, many of the characters within the story do not seem to see this. The different definitions above and types of irony can be confusing. For instance, dramatic irony is seen in situations where the reader knows something that the characters do not, while situational irony has outcomes that aren’t what was expected.
1. In the Alanis Morissette song "Ironic" an example of irony that stood out was situational irony. The lyric "a traffic jam you're already late" is situational irony due to the person in the situation already being late and encountering traffic diverging from expectations. The most common type of irony that I hear in my daily life is verbal irony. An example of this verbal irony is when a teacher assigns homework, people tend to say something like "Great because I had nothing else to do." This is verbal irony because although they are saying they have nothing to do, they do which makes the assignment an inconvenience.
ReplyDelete2. The first Tim Hawkins video is an example of a parody. The video uses well-known pop songs and changes the lyrics to children's nursery rhymes. This is done to comment on how children can't listen to the radio, so it creates an alternative for both the parent and child to be satisfied. The second Tim Hawkins video is an example of both parody and satire. The video is a parody of the song "Candy Man" while simultaneously poking fun at the government.
3. The definition of Socratic irony was the most confusing in my opinion. I think I would understand it more if I saw an in-person use of it. I think verbal irony is the most confusing to me because I struggle sometimes to understand when people are using verbal irony.
1. While listening to the song “Ironic” by Alanis Morissette, I could not find examples of “true irony”. Although the artist mentions many unfortunate scenarios, no irony is used directly. An example of this is in the line “He won the lottery and died the next day”. This circumstance is extremely unfortunate, however, it does not have an “opposing meaning between what’s said and what’s intended” as the article mentions is necessary for there to be “true irony”.
ReplyDeleteA form of irony that I am familiar with is verbal irony. An example of this is when Arizona summer rolls around and someone says, “Wow, it’s so nice out today!” despite the weather being at least 110 degrees. This is an example of verbal irony as someone says the exact opposite of what is true, as 110 degrees is never enjoyable.
2. The videos by Tim Hawkins are examples of pastiche and satire. The first video takes children's nursery rhymes and has them sung by 90s bands to appeal to a more mature audience. It imitates its original form but not in a mocking manner, and therefore, is pastiche. The second video funnily criticizes the US government; displaying its hypocrisy. This is an example of satire as it intends to shame the US government comically while maintaining underlying tones of seriousness.
3. The type of irony that is most confusing to me is cosmic irony. This is most likely difficult for me as I am unfamiliar with this form. I also struggle with irony in general and being able to identify it in different literary works.
1. When listening to "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette, I couldn't find any examples of 'true irony'. Statements like, "Well, isn't this ironic," may seem like a statement of irony, however these are responses to coincidences. For example, when someone shows up to a Halloween party wearing the same costume as you, you may say, "That's ironic!" Though, the true definition of irony does not make this an ironic situation. This applies to the song "Ironic" as the events in the music video are mere coincidences. The lyric "And who would've thought..." proves these to be coincidences: things you don't expect. A true example of irony would be if it were a cold, rainy gray day, you say, “What a beautiful day!” Irony is saying the opposite of what is truly happening.
ReplyDelete2. The first video is a parody. Taking children's rhymes and tuning them to a 90s band to suit a 'mature' audience is funny, not mocking. Parodies are comical, not judgemental. The second video is satire, mocking the US government.
3. Socratic irony confused me the most. The motive, using ignorance in order to reveal the errors in another person's viewpoint or argument, does not confuse me. However, I struggle to understand how this is classified as irony. I only thought this was a psychological tactic, not something you would identify in a literary work.
1. One line in the song that stood out to me was "Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you / When you think everything's okay and everything's going right / And life has a funny way of helping you out
ReplyDeleteWhen you think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up / In your face" - There seems to be the idea of opposites here, where one thing is expected and another happens, which thinly relates to the idea of one thing being said and another thing being meant, however the two concepts don't directly overlap. A few lines in the song that stood out to me were:
- "An old man turned 98 / He won the lottery and died the next day"
- "Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly / He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye / He waited his whole damn life to take that flight / And as the plane crashed down"
Perhaps the first line could be argued (albeit not super well maybe) as cosmic irony, the idea that 'god/fate' is against the man, there'd have to be more context to it to fully connect
The second one almost seems like situational irony to me. I personally don't expect the plane to fail so when it does, it's a little ironic in that sense.
The song plays with ideas of expectations vs. reality and fate which could, but don't always fall under situational and cosmic irony. If anything it pulls on ideas of luck and potentially karma depending on how you look at it.
2. The first Tim Hawkins video (btw LOVE him, saw him live many years ago) is a parody of two different ideas. The first is mocking an infomercial- he's trying to 'sell' his viewer these silly songs. The songs themselves are parodies. They're to the tune of iconic rock songs but to the lyrics of little kid nursery rhymes, mocking them in a light hearted manner.
The second one to me seemed more like satire. He's using humor to make deeper claims about the U.S. government and some of the more disagreeable things they do. It's a social commentary.
3. The one that I struggle with the most is sometimes acknowledging what fits as a parody. Elements of intertextuality often nod to other works but aren't parodies. Or they are mocking another work but it's a different literary device. Sometimes as well, I just miss the reference, as I'm not familiar with what it's taking a shot at so the joke goes over my head. :)
“Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you when you think everything's okay and everything's going right. And life has a funny way of helping you out when you think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up in your face.”
ReplyDeleteI believe that this is an example of cosmic irony. Some higher entity - “life” in this case - is bringing people up and then smacking them back down just because it can. This lyric implies that this deity is both cruel and comforting. It won’t let anyone be too happy but it doesn’t let people wallow in misery for too long either. It keeps things balanced.
The first video is an example of parody. He is parodying popular rock bands of the 80s and 90s, poking fun at their very distinctive styles. The second video is satire and ironic. He is criticizing the government, making it satire, and he is doing so by saying things that are bad in a way that makes them sound amazing (utilizing verbal irony? I think…)
I find the definition of irony most confusing because it isn’t true for every type of irony. If irony relies on intent, then can it be accidental? For example, the invention of the machine gun didn’t intend for his statement to be ironic but it became so years later. Similarly, while the creator of the Titanic was certainly tempting fate, his statement didn’t become ironic until after the fact. If the machine gun had brought world peace, or if the Titanic hadn’t sank, the irony would not be there. It seems like just a coincidence, not intentionally, that these phrases ended up being the opposite of what happened.
1. After listening to the song “Ironic” By Alanis Morissette, I was very confused with trying to depict specific parts in which irony is used. I continuously brought myself back to the true definition of true irony and was left with the thought that there may not be true irony in the song. The song continuously mentioned unfortunate scenarios and coincidences, although the scenarios were never “opposing meaning between what’s said and what’s intended”, so due to this I was left with no statements in which irony was used.
ReplyDeleteA true example of irony that I can think of is something that happens quite frequently, which is when people comment on the weather. Sometimes when people comment on the weather quality during a track practice they say, “It's a nice day for running”. This statement is proven as ironic (verbal irony) because in Buckeye, Arizona in 100-degree heat, it is absolutely not a nice day for running.
2. The first video provided is an example of parody. And yes, parody is mocking. Mocking may hold a negative connotation, but it seems as the the mocking of the popular 90s rock bands is being done in a very laid-back and happy manner. The second video is an example of satire. This is because it is using criticism towards the government and how they can do anything with no consequences, although the criticism is somehow done in a rather fun matter.
3. I feel as though I struggle to identify Irony as a whole, although, the type of irony I find it most difficult to depict is cosmic irony. This is because I have not dealt with this specific kind and haven't seen enough examples of it.
While many of the scenarios detailed in "Ironic" are not properly examples of irony, there are a few cases in which actual irony exists. For example, the sentence "It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife" could be interpreted ironically because it represents a circumstance in which you have an abundance of something you don't need and a scarcity of something you do. “Romeo and Juliet” is is a prime example of situational irony because the audience knows that Juliet is alive while Romeo believes her to be dead, leading to tragic consequences. This irony stems from the disparity between what the protagonists think to be real (Juliet's apparent death) and what the audience understands to be true (Juliet's current state), resulting in a very tragic outcome.
ReplyDeleteTim Hawkins' humor in "Kids' Rock" falls under the category of situational irony. The expectation is that rock songs, known for their adult topics and styles, will be adapted into children's music, which is often basic, innocent, and joyous. The irony resides in the juxtaposition of the original rock songs with the innocent and childlike reinterpretations, which results in a comical and unexpected contrast. One can use Tim Hawkins' "The Government Can" as an illustration of verbal irony. Hawkins makes sarcastic and overstated claims about the powers and functions of the government in this song. The irony resides in the discrepancy between what is said (the capabilities of the government) and what is inferred or comprehended (the real boundaries of government).
The most confusing definition from above was Historical Irony. This is because I’m not sure I understand how much time needs to pass before something becomes historical. I find the literary devices of Paradox and Oxymoron to be confusing to tell apart as they both involve apparent contradictions.
1. One example of true irony I found in Morissette’s song was the line, “It's like 10,000 spoons when all ya need is a knife.” This example of irony is situational, in which the person lacks the one thing they need while surrounded by an excess of what is not needed. Dramatic irony can be found in A Thousand Splendid Suns when we as readers knew that Laila was pregnant with Traqi’s child, while Rasheed was questioning her.
ReplyDelete2. The Kids Rock video demonstrates situational irony as rock bands are unexpectedly singing children's songs, creating a juxtaposition between expectations and reality. The Government Can video is an example of satire as Hawkins is using verbal irony to criticize the government and highlight the discrepancies between what was stated in the video and what is happening in reality.
3. I found that socratic irony was the most confusing for me as I had to reread it a couple times to understand it. However, I now understand that this form of irony can be easily weaponized in socratic seminars and everyday life.
1. An example of irony I heard in the Morissette song is verbal irony. This happens when the man on a plane that was crashing says “Isn’t this nice?” This is because it is not nice.
ReplyDeleteAn example of an ironic thing I have read is in A Thousand Splendid Suns when Laila and Mariam are planning to run away. Rasheed does not know, but the readers do know. This is an example of dramatic irony used to develop tension in the story.
2. Kids’ Rock by Tim Hawkins is an example of parody because they are taking a song and changing the lyrics. The Government Can by Tim Hawkins is an example of satire because it criticizes the government using humor and song.
3.A previous definition that confused me the most is cosmic irony. I think am going to get that type of irony confused with things that are not ironic. The literary device I find most confusing is allusion because sometimes I completely miss the fact that there is an allusion. For example, in Cyrano I had no idea there were some allusions or what they meant until Mrs. Caraway pointed it out.
1. One example of Irony seen in the music video is when she says “A no smoking sign on your cigarette break”. This is a use of situational irony. Situational irony occurs when there's a different outcome from what is expected to happen and what happens in a situation. In this case, the irony lies in the contradiction between the presence of a "no smoking" sign and the act of taking a cigarette break, which is typically associated with smoking.
ReplyDelete2. The second Tim Hawkins video is satire and verbal irony. He is singing an upbeat happy-go song when the lyrics are quite sad and devastating. The first video from Tim Hawkins is a situational irony since it’s rock bands singing children's songs when this isn’t expected. Typically, this is the opposite of what you’d find a rock band singing. Both videos are parodies mixed with a usage of satire.
3. The one that confused me the most was Socratic irony. The definition of it confused me and I think I’d need to see it in person being used to understand it. I don’t know how it would be used it in literacy but only rather in person.
My favorite part is when it says something about meeting the man of her dreams, and then meeting his beautiful wife. This could be seen as ironic because meeting the "man of your dreams" usually implies a positive romantic encounter, but discovering that he's already married is the opposite of what's expected. I had never heard of pastiche, so that one confused me at first. It seems very similar to a parody and I feel like it would be difficult for me to identify the difference between the two if they were presented in front of me.
ReplyDeleteMadison Coates^
Delete1. In Ms. Morissette's song, the only irony I could see would potentially be in the line about how life can sneak up on you, which personifies life, or potentially deifies Life as a sort of cosmic force, that is indifferent or actively works against us in order to kick us while we're up just to make our lives harder. That could also be taken as merely tragic. but the argument could be made that it is some form of cosmic irony.
ReplyDelete2. The first Tim Hawkins video looks at pastiche, and potentially at satire. Though the bands are not a government, they are a large organisation, and he could be potentially be poking fun of the corporate nature and sound of that subgenre of rock. But more than likely, he is probably just making a parody via pastiche of the bands and their styles. The second was more of satire than the first criticising the government through his words in order to achieve a comedic effect.
3. Socratic Irony most confused me as I cannot think of any examples of Socratic Irony that I could think of immediately, like so many other types of irony. I do not really understand how or when Socratic irony would or could be used in daily life. Of all of the literary devices, I find irony or parallelism the most confusing as I often miss those.
1. I found many examples of true irony in the Morissette song. When she says “A death row pardon two minutes too late.” is an example of situational irony due to the tragic timing and the opposite of what was expected occurs. Just the other day Mrs. Caraway used verbal irony when Alaine told her that our lit tracker was 107 pages and she said “I can’t wait to read all of that.” Of course, at this moment she was being sarcastic and did not in fact want to read more than 100 pages of words on a document.
ReplyDelete2. Each of the funny little videos is an example of parody and satire. In the first video, he is mocking popular and familiar children's songs with songs that are more popular among adults. In the second video, he is ridiculing the US government’s abilities.
3. Socratic irony confuses me the most because I just do not understand the example but the definition of it kind of makes sense to me.
-Nataly Atilano
Delete1.) The line "It's meeting the man of my dreams, and then meeting his beautiful wife" is an example of situational irony, in the sense that when someone meets what they believe to be the person of their dreams, they usually expect for them to quickly form a bond and get together, as if it were right out of their dreams; their dream coming true! However, when you then meet the person's spouse, it goes against your initial expectations, and goes against the initial thought that this person was out of YOUR dreams and hence would likely end up with you.
ReplyDelete2.) In Tim Hawkins's "The Government Can" song, there is a lot of satire being used to bash the government for taxing essentially everything they possibly could (hyperbole), and how they take our money to "pay for all of their 'solutions", tell us how to behave, make the founding fathers roll in their grave, etc. The entire song is a satire slight at the government for being "power hungry and malicious".
3.) Situational Irony is probably both the most confusing definition and the one I had the most trouble finding and using. For me, irony is somewhat easier to identify, but situational irony seems to be difficult to comprehend and apply in some situations.
1. At the beginning of Mrs. Morrisette’s music video, she is driving away from a gas station and by the end, her car abruptly stopped which I would assume because there was no gas left. This is an example of situational irony. An often-used example of irony is verbal irony, as one may say “I’m feeling great” while having fallen with a cold.
ReplyDelete2. “Kids Rock” seems to be a parody of rock songs based on children’s nursery rhymes, as they are presented as hard rock music instead of the usual relaxing or slow melody. “The Government Can” outlines a satirical case where the government can get away with a lot and not experience repercussions.
3. Irony is definitely the literary device I struggle the most with. It’s not so much defining the types individually but outlining the difference between them.
1. I do not believe there are solid examples of “true irony” in Alanis Morrisette’s song. There are many examples of things not playing out the way you expect them to but that does not qualify for the definition which requires stark opposites. The example that comes the closest is “meeting the man of my dreams And then meeting his beautiful wife”, this would be situational irony if the story was told from the perspective of a friend who knew the man was married but it comes from the perspective of the person who was not “in the know” making. The lack of knowledge making the situation contrast her expectation, while unfortunate, does not render this as irony.
ReplyDelete2. Tim Hawkin’s “Kids’ Rock” video is an example of a parody. It is recreating things we know but putting a different spin on them, making them unfamiliar to their original context. This particular combination closed the gap between young children who would not often be allowed to hear these songs on the radio and parents who do not wish to listen to children’s songs anymore. The second video takes parody one step further by depicting it with satire as well through poking at roles that someone would not want to be involved with and assigning them to the government. It is a parody of the song “Candy Man” repurposed to poke fun at the government.
3. I would have to say cosmic irony confused me the most; not saying I do not understand it but just that the concept took the longest for me to wrap my head around. Irony is a difficult literary device for me to recognize when reading, sometimes I recognize what is happening in the context of what I am reading but take no note of the device because I am used to seeing it in day-to-day life.
1) The definition of irony that was most confusing to me was Socratic irony. I had never heard of this type of irony before so it was new and a little confusing to me at first.
ReplyDelete2) The type of irony that is present in the song by Alanis Morrisett is situational irony as in the line “It’s like rain on your wedding day” as this is a situation that no one expects or wants to happen to them but could happen to anyone.
3. The irony present in the first Tim Hawkins video is a parody because it uses popular bands from the 80’s to mock common nursery rhymes.
4 The second Tim Hawkins video is an example of parody because it uses the tune from the popular song “Candy Man” and uses it to mock the government.
1: None of the examples given in Morissete’s song were actually ironic. All of them were just unfortunate events. The only irony that could fit any of the events is situational but none of them are sharp enough divergences to do so. Perhaps the “10,000 spoons'' line could fit but I think it would require more context to truly be ironic; are you looking for a knife in the spoon factory? Why would you expect there to be a knife there, no expectations are broken by not finding a knife in this context so this line is not always ironic. One example of irony in media I have consumed is from a book. In this book, the main character “died” but was actually able to be saved. None of the characters knew that she had been saved leading to a dissolvement of their group and loss of hope that was necessary as setup for the plot of the sequel. This is dramatic irony as characters were not privy to something that other characters and the audience were aware of.
ReplyDelete2: The first video, “Kids’ Rock” is both parody and pastiche. The parody aspect is directed at Kidz Bop. The video imitates the model behind Kidz Bop where music is censored to be more appropriate to kids. The pastiche comes in the versions of songs written to show the concept, the versions of songs from artists like Pearl Jam, Nickelback, Coldplay, and AC/DC. Tim Hawkins is not making fun of these bands with the replacement of lyrics but rather is making fun of Kidz Bop. The bands featured are being celebrated and are considered good and something a parent would want to hear instead of boring children’s nursery rhymes so it is pastiche. The second video, “The Government Can” is a piece of satire intended to draw ridicule on the government. It highlights many of the aspects where Tim Hawkins feels that the government fails like redistributing people’s money, failing to provide good solutions, or is corrupt and power hungry. This ridicule matches with satire as it is done comically but also in a way to criticize the government. The choice to present it in a style similar to a children’s show is not parody as he is not making fun of children’s entertainment in this video but rather was done to make it more clear that on a very basic level, the government is still bad.
3: The aforementioned definition that I least understood was that of Socratic irony. I think that that the definition given was a little confusing and when I looked it up it turned out to essentially be playing dumb. For me, verbal irony is one of the most confusing literary devices, not because I don't understand it but because I am not good at identifying it. I am pretty bad at identifying when this is used in literature as there is no spoken tone when I am reading. The sarcastic tone that normally accompanies verbal irony that I can recognize the device from does not exist in books so I usually just miss it and think characters are just telling the truth.
Matteo Padilla
Delete1. The closest example to true irony I found in Alanis Morisette’s song is from the line, “It's like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife.”I found that situational irony was the best option to describe this verse because one could expect at least a single knife within such a sheer number of utensils, however it turns out that they are all spoons.
ReplyDelete2. The first video demonstrates parody as each of the songs within it are all different renditions of the original pieces, meant to not only parody the music itself but also put into the spotlight the idea of making certain songs more friendly for a younger audience (Kids Bop). The second video mocks the government and its shortcomings through satire.
3. I would say that the most confusing form of irony that took me a bit to understand at first was cosmic irony. Stuck between thinking the concept was just the idea of fate or rather the declaration against fate itself was the idea, I definitely needed to read the definition through a couple of times to get the gist of it. Irony tends to be the most confusing literary device for me.
1) While most of "Ironic" wasn't actually ironic, I believe that a lot of those situations could become ironic with further elaboration. If the statement of "meeting your dream man but he already has a beautiful wife" was close but not quite situational irony it could be prefaced with information to make the outcome more suprising or seemingly contradictory to an audience like "meeting your dream single man who said he was rooted in honesty, then meeting this single man and his single wife." And even though the song appears flawed from a literary analyst perspective, I still enjoyed the song from both her meaning and its effects as I understand what she was attempting to convey and appreciate the fact of trying to see the light in a bad luck situation by labeling it as ironic.
ReplyDelete2. The parody videos were enoyable and even though they were made almost as long ago as my entire lifetime ago, were still similair to a lot of modern YouTube videos. I often see sort of the celebration aspect of pastiche in parody as to micic a song, movie, concept, organization etc.. can have as much care in production as the original and often requires true attention to detail.
3. Initially, Socratic irony was the most confusing as I cannot come up with an easy way to "play" or better define the example's interaction and dialogue. The statement of cynisism often leading to satire also wasn't one I had considered before and I found very interesting.
1. The entirety of the song "Ironic" had a lot of irony. One line of irony which stood out to me was when it said "An old man turned ninety-eight He won the lottery and died the next day". This is an example of situational irony as the old man survived in order to win millions of dollars through the lottery and then didn't get the chance to use any of the money.
ReplyDelete2. The first video is an example of situational irony as it is a rock band singing children's songs which is abnormal. The second video is an example of verbal irony and satire as even though the lyrics are sad they are sung in a very happy upbeat method.
3.The definition that confused me the most was Socratic irony as the definition doesn't make sense to me nor does the example
Danica Slack
DeleteI did not find any clear irony within the Alanis Morissette song. Although there were many moments of amusing coincidence, these are not considered true irony. The most common type of irony that I experience in my life is verbal irony. For example, when my coaches give us the directions for a new drill and they follow it up by asking “is that clear?”, which is then answered by the phrase “clear as mud”. This is ironic because mud is not actually clear, therefore we are saying that we do not understand the drill as intended.
ReplyDeleteThe two songs are examples of parody and satire. The first video demonstratres parody as it mocks older children’s songs through the method of imitation. The second video is an example of satire as it works to make fun of and mock the government in the style of a music video. It serves as a creative way to ridicule their government.
The definition and concept of situationl irony is what confuses me the most. It seems very vague and therefore easily intertwined with the several other types of irony.
1.
ReplyDeleteI could not find any examples of true irony in Morissette's song. The instances that she is describing are merely coincidence. For example, for the statement, “It’s like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife” to actually be ironic, the scenario would have to take place somewhere akin to a knife factory. Only having spoons in a place where there are only supposed to be knives would be situational irony. An example of irony that I have heard before is in Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”, in which she states that her and her ex-boyfriend will not be getting together again, and then proceeds to list every instance in which they got back together. Saying that they are “never ever getting back together” implies a sense of finality in the situation, the situational irony occurs because the couple is not expected to get back together because of the statement above.
2.
The first Tim Hawkins video is an example of pastiche. The video depicts several parodies of popular songs turned into children’s nursery rhymes. The nursery rhymes are imitating the styles of artists such as Metallica, Alanis Morissette, and Coldplay. The video is celebrating the artists more than it is mocking them, the appeal of the artists is recognized and shown to the viewers.
The second Tim Hawkins video is an example of satire. The video is a parody of “The Candy Man” from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It is not celebrating anything, the video is mocking the structure and actions of the United States government for everyone to see. Hawkins uses a well-known, up beat song to talk about issues such as, the government taking the money of people, increasing taxes, and the unstable state of the economy.
3.
The definition that confused me the most was historical irony or socratic irony. I understand them both but if I had to create a piece of work with either of them, I would not know exactly what to do. Being able to find instances of the two kinds of irony is also confusing too.
Out of the literary devices that I know, I would say that any form of irony is the hardest for me to work with and for me to find. Especially since there are so many different types of irony, I struggle with identifying where the irony is and what kind it is. Finding the meaning behind irony is also a struggle for me, occasionally, I will not understand that I am actually reading irony and I won’t understand what it means.
1: I find situational irony in the verses about “Mr. Play it Safe” and his first flight crashing because plane crashes are incredibly rare and it's unexpected that his first flight would crash, especially considering how he finally got over that paranoia. I also think the verse has verbal irony when he says “well isnt this nice?” because a plane crash is definitely not a great situation to be in.
ReplyDelete2: The first video (Kid Rock) seems like a mixture of parody and situational irony. They're creating parodies of well-known bands and children's music, and there's situational irony in not expecting established bands to sing children's music in a rock style. The second one is satire aimed at the US government, criticising the high tax rates without much noticeable benefit. He’s commenting on the injustice of paying all profits to the government in an entertaining and comedic fashion.
3: I’ve never heard of cosmic irony before, and I'm curious what other examples there could be. It sounds like a mixture of situational/verbal irony in that the man said something and the exact opposite happened. Is the only reason it's considered cosmic because it references a higher power?
1. I was unable to find any true irony in the song. However, I have seen irony in real life. For example, an old teammate of mine switched teams in order to receive more playing time. However, after they left, a spot opened up on my team where they could have played, and they did not end up playing much on their new team.
ReplyDelete2. I believe that the Kid's Rock video is an example of parody and "The Government Can" is an example of satire. The Kid's Rock video makes a lot of knock off versions of popular songs by giving them lyrics from kids songs, while "The Government Can" makes fun of the government and all of its flaws.
3. Irony is still the most confusing literary device for me. Of these definitions, I was most confused about the pastiche.
In Morisette’s song, verbal irony can be found in the line “And as the plane crashed down, he thought ‘Well isn’t this nice?’ “ This is the use of sarcasm as the man is likely about to die on the trip he spent so long planning and exclaiming that the situation is “nice”, when it is far from the truth. I could not find any other strong examples of true irony in the song.
ReplyDeleteThe first song seems to be an example of a pastiche. It is a visual piece that imitates a past work but does not necessarily make a point to mock the art, instead playing off of classic nursery rhymes to entertain the audience within the rock genre. The second song is a parody. The video uses the tune of “Candyman” in a son that pokes fun at the government. There is also irony in how cheerful the original song is and how serious the topic of the government’s choices can be, making all of the lyrics verbally ironic.
I am the most confused on situational irony. More specifically, I do not feel I have a good grasp on the difference between an ironic situation and a coincidence.The wedding day example stated in the blog makes a lot of sense, but I do not feel that I can differentiate between the two.
Rachael Emmons
Delete1: during the first song, the lines “And as the plane crashed down, he thought ‘Well isn’t this nice?'" Has some verbal irony. The guy uses sarcasm as he's about to probably die on the trip he had dreamed of and claiming that this is "nice".
ReplyDelete2: the videos seem to be mocking certain popular songs and other media. Like taking something we know and twisting it up with something absurd. Which can poke fun at a certain topic.
3: honestly irony as a whole is a little confusing to me, especially with how there are many forns for it and different meanings.
1. In Morissette's song "Ironic" there were surprisingly not many examples of clear irony. There was not an example of real irony, but there was some comedic irony and situational irony. The piece she used that stood out to me the most would be the comment on a safe man planning so long for a flight only to end up in a very rare plane crash and saying "well isn't this nice". That is very ironic due to the comment that this man was safe and cautious all his life and when he finally got to his trip he got into a crash (or one can assume), and instead of panicking he acted collected and carefree. Not in any way a safe man would have acted in his situation.
ReplyDeleteOne movie comes to mind when I think of Irony, and that is Mulan. Throughout the whole movie, the viewers are aware throughout the whole movie that Mulan is a girl but after running away to fight in her father's name she is treated like a man and is even compared to a girl when she wasn't able to do some of the things the men could do. This is a great example of situational irony and dramatic irony. Saying things like she fought like a girl were very ironic seeing as she was actually a girl. This is dramatic irony as well because the man who grows respect for her is unaware that she is a woman in disguise and when he finds out his whole perception of her is shifted.
2. The first of the silly videos is an example of parodies of music. Tim Hawkins, wrote comedic parodies of popular classic music with children's song lyrics. This is comedic due to the strange combination of the two very different genres in the form of a parody song. The second Tim Hawkins video is also a parody, but it is also very satire. The video is essentially calling out the U.S. government for its abuse of power and overall lack of responsibility with the money in our economy.
3. I think out of all the definitions, situational irony is the most confusing to me. Though I am confident I could understand it with a little more thought, the explanation above does not make too much sense to me. All of the literary devices sound very familiar to what I know so I am not confused on any of the literary devices meanings.
ReplyDelete1. In the Morissette song I was able to find that verbal irony is used. When Mr. Play It Safe is mentioned, we learn that he was afraid to fly but he packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye to get on a plane. He waited his entire life to get on a flight that would end up crashing down. His thoughts on this situation were "Well isn't this nice... And isn't it ironic...” - (1:26 - 1:30). Mr. Play It Safe is being sarcastic as he is intentionally saying the opposite of his true feelings on the sad situation. An example of irony that I have heard is when sports parents tell their kids “You're doing great sweetie!”, when in reality they're struggling but they do not want to admit that to their child because they will feel bad about themselves (the kid will feel bad about themselves). This is an example of verbal irony because the sports parent is being sarcastic in their child’s performance.
2. This first video titled “Kids' Rock” by Tim Hawkins is an example of a parody because it is imitative work utilized to mock children's songs by turning them from a sweet, calm sound into a loud, rock sound. The second video titled “The Government Can“ by Tim Hawkins is an example of satire because even though it can be humorous it is shaming the government for how much power and control they have to do whatever they want.
3. Out of all the definitions listed above, the one that confused me the most is cosmic irony. While I understand it a tiny bit I would still need some more help to fully know what it is. The literary devices that I find most confusing are metonymy and synecdoche since I could probably get them confused easily.
1. I found verbal and verbal and situational irony in Morisette’s song. There’s verbal irony in her reaction to the plane crashing when she says “Isn’t this nice?” Another example I thought was situational irony was when she mentioned smoking next to a no-smoking sign.
ReplyDelete2. The first video is an example of a parody. The creator changed the lyrics but kept the tune of the iconic rock songs. As for the second video, it’s satire. They’re ridiculing the government. The satire communicated a bigger meaning of criticizing the government.
3. Historical irony confused me the most only for a second. What helped me understand it was thinking about when people say “Well that aged well.”
This is Meli!!!
Delete1. The death row pardon two minutes too late may be considered situational irony as a system so aggressive and serious wasn’t being managed well enough to stop the unnecessary death of a person that didn’t deserve it. Additionally, the situation of a man being afraid to fly and then building the courage to finally take a flight for it to then crash is also an example of situational irony as the likelihood of a plane crash is already incredibly low, and for someone to be so afraid to be in a plane crash to then finally gain the confidence to get on a plane for it to just crash almost validates the man’s irrational fear. SPOILERS FOR SCHOOL READING OF CYRANO DE BERGERAC AHEAD Cyrano de Bergerac was a reading absolutely riddled with irony as Cyrano thought himself to be unwanted and unloved, though the person he was infatuated with had mutual feelings, and most everyone liked Cyrano and thought him to be incredibly witty and powerful. He also ironically died trying to deny himself the love of Roxanne though she was actively telling him that she loved him.
ReplyDelete2. The Tim Hawkins videos were examples of satire as they were meant to exemplify the contradictory nature of the government and music covers for kids respectively. To criticize the government, the video made the faults of the government incredibly apparent, using its often ironic nature as a system meant to help and uphold the people that often does the exact opposite as the basis for the lyrics. Additionally, the Kids’ Rock video criticizes kids music covers, most likely Kidz Bop, as it takes the likeness of some of the most popular bands and trivializes their artistic efforts and visions by changing the lyrics to some of their most popular songs to those of common children’s lullabies or songs.
3. Honestly, just understanding what could be defined as ironic was somewhat confusing, as it's often described as two opposites coincidentally occurring, which would then deem Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic” actually ironic, though irony seems to require a bit more unlikeliness than two events that aren’t very congruent or fortunate when occurring simultaneously.
1. The Alanis Morissette song is not truly ironic as all of the examples are simply coincidences and not irony. A good example of Irony, however, are rom-coms since they heavily rely on dramatic irony and the audience knowing more than the characters.
ReplyDelete2. The two Tim Hawkins videos are examples of satire and parody as they make fun of how boring kids songs are and how inefficient the government is through the use of popular songs and genres of music.
3. Cosmic Irony is a bit confusing as it doesn't really seem like the other ironies due to its lack of miscommunication or even contradiction. In terms of all literary devices, metaphors give me trouble as they are so broad and I struggle to identify them over symbols or other similar literary devices.
I found an example of verbal irony in one of the verses of the song, where a man is in a plane that is crashing and says to himself “Well isn’t this nice…”. This statement is verbally ironic because the situation that he is in is nowhere near nice at all, yet he is still being humorous with his word choice.
ReplyDeleteThe first video is an example of satire, as the comedian is making fun of popular kid’s nursery rhymes and saying that they can be made better by placing the words over modern songs. The second funny video is an example of parody because the comedian is using a popular song with different lyrics to make fun of how the government is stealing people’s money.
The definition that confused me the most was that of cosmic irony, just because it is not used very often and I have not encountered it regularly. The literary device that I find most confusing is probably either anaphora or metonymy/synecdoche.
1. I found an example of situational irony in the Morissette song where she says, “It’s like rain on your wedding day”. A type of dramatic irony is seen in Romeo and Juliet where Romeo finds Juliet and thinks she’s dead, but she’s really not. This is an example of dramatic irony because the audience knows that Juliet isn’t dead, but Romeo doesn’t know this and decides to take his own life.
ReplyDelete2. The first Tim Hawkins video is an example of pastiche. The video aims to celebrate kids' songs by adding a new element to them and isn’t aimed to make fun of them. The second Tim Hawkins video is an example of satire. This video is humorous and aims to criticize the government as they have a ton of power and keep taking our money.
3. The previous definition that confused me the most is cosmic irony as I can’t seem to find an example that I’ve seen of this and don’t think I fully understand it. The literary devices that I find most confusing are metonymy and synecdoche as I still don’t understand the difference between these two and don’t fully grasp the reason why they’re used.
1. In the song there is verbal irony when the man is on a plane that is crashing and he says to himself, "Well isn't this nice?" We know it is verbal irony, because the situation he was in was indeed not nice, but he says the exact opposite in almost a humorous way.
ReplyDelete2. The first Time Hawkins video was an example of pastiche. Hawkins took the style of certain artists and made them into songs we all know or familiar with. Hawkins was doing impressions while singing the songs. In the second Tim Hawkins video, there was a parody. It was a parody for the song "The Candyman Can" from Willy Wonka, although it is rewritten to mock the government with the same melody.
3. The one that confused me the most was Socratic irony. The literary device that confuses me the most is finding the meaning when I run into a synecdoche.
1. Most of the lines Alanis Morissette says in her song such as “rain on your wedding day” and “ a free ride when you’ve already paid” are merely bad luck rather than irony. When the man says “isn’t this nice” while his plane is crashing is an example of verbal irony though as a plane crashing is a tragic event and obviously not nice. It could also be situational irony as he was Mr. Play-it-safe and took his flight thinking his outcome would be that he landed safely at his destination and expected to return to his family, but he had the complete opposite outcome and crashed. Another example of situational irony would be if a fire truck was on fire as it contradicts the expectation that a fire truck is what puts out fires and not a fire itself.
ReplyDelete2. The first Tim Hawkins video is an example of parody and satire. It takes popular, well-known music and changes the original lyrics to kid lyrics. It is satirical as it is making fun of kid songs and almost mocks them in a sense. The second Tim Hawkins video is satire as it shames and mocks the government over a well-known tune
3. The definition of Pastiche is a little difficult to understand as it can be mistaken for a parody. I find that satire is sometimes hard to recognize when reading novels as it does not stand out as obvious as other types of ironies.
Did you find any examples of true irony in the Morissette song? Give me an example of irony in something you have heard or read. What type of irony is it? Why?
ReplyDeleteI didn't find any irony in that. If any of those things happened to those kinds of people then I would have totally expected it. If you were to put those people in a movie then I would have immediately expected for something to go wrong. You could even expect her song to be unironic but still be called Ironic. I guess it could be dramatic irony if you look at it that way, but that’s only because there could be some comedic value brought from her thinking her lyrics had irony in them but we all know it doesn’t.
I watched a music video called “Party in the ClA", which in a parody of “Party in the USA". It makes fun of the ClA’s suspicious activity and crimes in other countries for the sake of America’s power grab across the world. There's also some situational irony where you know that we’re told the CIA is the good guys but also is super suspicious with their activity, but the entire song is to a comedic level of suspicious activity.
What are each of the funny little videos an example of and why?
Kids' Rock
Situational Irony - there was expectation that the kid songs were edited to be exactly like popular rock songs but were done so many times it gained a comedic affect
Parody - The songs were obviously based on popular rock songs from popular bands and designed for an older generation to appreciate and compare with common nursery rhymes that are constantly repeated
Satire - it takes things made for children like nursery rhymes and makes it palpable for adults, and comments on this by saying “it’s not about your kids it’s about you”. It takes notice of how adults often get annoyed or irritated by nursery rhymes when they weren’t designed to be for adults, but for kids, with simple music and lyrics for kids to repeat
The Government Can
Parody - a parody of "Willy Wonka Can" from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (AKA the first one) that compares the seemingly “all powerful” abilities Wonka has making sweets to the “all powerful” rules and regulations made by the US government
Verbal Irony - The singer says things that you should "be happy about" (like eating plates and calling it delicious)
Situational Irony - the continuous use of jokes against the government is out of nowhere, but it's repeated continuously to where it gains a comedic affect on the audience
Satire - used the complaints about the government to make a comedic art piece that actiually makes you question the reason we have the complaints of the government in the first place
Which of the previous definitions confused you the most? What literary device do you find the most confusing?
What confused me the most was historical irony, because I would need more examples to understand it. How do you know when that historical claim or event is contradicted? When you know it's historical irony if history has so many different working cogs all at once?
1. Throughout the lines of Morristte's song, I noticed that there was never a clear and definite example of Irony. For instance, when the man had won the lottery but unfortunately passed away the next day, it may seem close to situational Irony, however, it does not entirely fit the true definition of it being the opposite meaning between what's said and what's intended. Although it is not what is to expected, this circumstance is not connected to the definition enough to be considered ironic. This kind of occurrence was frequently seen throughout the song, leading me to conclude the lack of ironic examples. However, an example of irony I am familiar with is verbal irony, as it is similar to sarcasm, something I use very frequently. Commenting on how nice the weather is when in reality, it might be extremely hot or uncomfortably cold is an example of this.
ReplyDelete2. The first Tim Hawkins video is an example of pastiche, while the second represents satire. In the first, songs sung by children that appeal to a younger audience are then sung by popular bands in order to appeal to an older audience instead. This recreation is not done in a mocking or critical manner but instead done through inspiration, therefore, representing pastiche. When it comes to the second video, it is made in order to target the US government by using humor to display genuine issues. The humor helps deflect the actual sincerity in the problem as they mock the government in an undertone, therefore, representing satire.
3. The example of irony that was most difficult for me to understand was Socratic irony, mainly due to the presence of ignorance and what role it has to play in making it seem opposite of what is intended or meant. What I understood from the definition, was that it meant asking questions that you know the answer to, but use for the individual you are speaking to, to realize their mistakes when forming their own answer. I think this concept took the most time for me to understand as it was, in my opinion, the standout example of irony that differed the most.
1: I found irony in the song as the man won a lottery ticket but soon died a day later. I find this ironic as winning a lottery ticket is often associated with good luck or good fortune however the man was faced with a terrible fate and had the worst timing possible to win anything. An ironic phrase I've often heard is when people say, "what a beautiful day" when it's either really cold or hot outside. This would be verbal irony.
ReplyDelete2: The Tim Hawkins videos are an example of parody as they mock songs intended for children and make them out to be boring and repetitive. They transform them into rock songs and satirical songs with the motive to appeal to older audience.
2: The second video mocks the government and how they treat the public, this is situational irony as the government is intended to take care of it's people however in the video they are doing the opposite by over taxing and justifying their actions with their position of authority.
3: Pastiche confuses me as most irony is intended to portray something opposing another thing, however this seems to praise the subject and provide for it.
In Alanis Morissette's song Ironic I noticed she used verbal irony. She describes a man getting ready to take a flight somewhere but it crashed, the man thought “Well isn't that nice”. It is clear the man obviously isn't happy about his plane crashing because he is excited about his destination, as said earlier in the song. I often hear verbal irony from my parents when they’re upset with me or have an attitude. For example, if my mom is already mad at me and I ask her something like “Did you put the chicken in the oven” and she says “No it turned on by itself”
ReplyDeleteI would consider the first video “Kid’s Rock” to be a satirical parody. This is because Hawkins took songs already published and made them for kids, often parodies are critical and mock the singer, or in this case, Hawkins is mocking people who make parodies for children. It is clear Hawkins didn't intend this video for kids but for people to laugh because no one would listen to “Old McDonald” sung by Pearl Jam. The second video is also a parody, he sings about something rather negative but uses upbeat music sung by children to make the song seem more cheerful and childlike even though he is talking about something only adults would understand.
I would say cosmic irony was the most confusing to me. Before this blog, I didn't know that was a type of irony and I cant recall a time when people used it so if someone did it would be harder for me to understand.
While the Morissette song consists of many inconveniences, there is an example of verbal irony in the song. As she described “Mr. Play It Safe '' in a crashing plane, he said, “Well, isn’t this nice?”. Although the fact a man scared of flying crashed in a plane is not an example of irony and is simply bad luck, his comment that a crash was “nice” is verbally ironic. I have also seen irony in Jane Austen’s novel, Emma. Throughout the beginning of the novel, the protagonist went on about how she was not the kind of woman to marry and always saw Mr. Knightley as a friend. When considering the fact she ends up marrying him, situational irony is established and affects the reader by developing the theme that love can take people by surprise.
ReplyDeleteI initially thought the “Kids Rock” video was mocking the brand of KidzBop, however, it seemed much more focused on the music of the various included artists. I don’t think the video aims to celebrate or ridicule the work of these artists, so I would define it as a parody. It seems to mock the style of each artist and dramatize their general traits to make a funny video. Although “The Government Can” is a parody of the song, “The Candyman” I would identify the piece as a work of satire as its main purpose is to ridicule the government and its shortcomings. Although it uses the popular tune of a well-known song to do so, this is not the main intention of the piece and it would be better described as a work based upon social criticism.
The most confusing definition of irony for me is that of cosmic irony. The provided example seems quite similar to historical irony and I am a little lost as to how references to the Gods/fate would allow for its own definition of irony. As to literary devices in general, I get quite confused by metonymy and synecdoche, as well as certain propaganda tools, simply because I don’t see them as often.
1. Dramatic irony in the song as the death row inmate is pardoned after their death as the audience and pretty much everyone else knows this but the inmate is too dead to know this. An example of irony in something I’ve heard is in the song “Come As You Are” by Nirvana where the lyrics contradict themselves constantly such as the lines “take your time” and “hurry up”. This creates situational irony as one would not expect these two phrases next to each other.
ReplyDelete2. The first video is a collection of parodies of children's songs in the style of rock music. They are parodies because they draw from the specific styles of popular rock bands in order to make fun of the children’s songs. The second video is a song containing heavy amounts of satire in order to poke fun at the government. This is seen through the upbeat music containing positive messages such as “the government can” but in reality the things mentioned are negative.
3. Historical irony is the most confusing to me as I feel it has a lot of overlap with situational irony where the outcome is drastically different from the perspectives. The only real difference is that historical irony takes time into account whereas situational irony doesn’t emphasize it.
1. I feel an example of situational irony in Morrisette's song was when she said "its like a traffic jam, when you're already late" this is ironic because first you're late and then you just so happened to get stuck in traffic. I feel like this is a example of true irony because this is exactly what people would hope not to expect but of course it would happen on the one time you really don't want it to. I feel like the traffic would be expected but you would hope there wasn't.
ReplyDelete2. The first video is an example of satire in childrens songs and they were sung like modern day songs people would listen to now but the point is to make fun of childrens songs and nursery rhymes. The second video is an example of verbal irony because the guy is making fun of the government in a way that's supposed to be funny but true.
3. The example of irony that I had the most trouble trying to understand was probably dramatic irony and that's only because I was having trouble trying to differentiate it from satire, sarcasm, and verbal irony.
1. Most of the examples given in Morissette's song were closer to unexpected situations, not irony. With more context, the situations could be ironic but without it, they are just coincidences. There is no real correlation between rain and a wedding day or winning the lottery and dying the next day. "Well isn't this nice" in the second verse at 1:26 was the only solid example of irony. The second verse thoroughly outlines enough context about a man and his fear of flying and then juxtaposes it with an unexpected crash. This could be an example of situational irony. His response, "Well isn't this nice" is an example of verbal irony because it is clearly the opposite of his true feelings. Mulan showcases dramatic irony. The audience knows she is a woman disguised as a man to save her father from the draft. No one else knows she is a woman.
ReplyDelete2. Hawkins' 'Kids' Rock' video is an example of pastiche. He takes well known nursery rhymes and attaches them to popular music by imitating their sound vocally and instrumentally. The ' The Government Can' video is an example of satire. He uses an upbeat song and mocking lyrics such as, "the government takes everything we make to pay for all of their 'solutions'" to ridicule the government.
3. The definitions of parody and satire are the most confusing to me. Initially, I thought I understood them separately. However, they have very similar definitions and could be confused for each other.
1. True irony requires an opposite meaning between what's stated and what's intended, the song seems to have no examples of this, and instead presents irony in the more casual way where it is usually used in real life. An example I believe of irony is in the novel "Shadow Slave" where the main character has a "flaw" which forces him to tell the truth, to get around this, the character manipulates and withholds the truth in order to still deceive others. The irony arises in one of his lines where he states "Im the most honest person in the world, 2 worlds even". This is ironic in that he is technically telling the truth but he continues to deceive others. This is verbal irony as the speaker uses words which directly contrast his true intentions and actions.
ReplyDelete2. The Tim Hawikins videos are examplies of satire, the first video is a satirical parody where Hawkins mocks radio broadcasts which play music by replacing the traditional music used during the broadcasts with Kid's songs which served to highlight make the broadcasts seem ridiculous. The second video is a song which pokes fun at the ironic nature of many governmental actions
3. I believe I have a standard understanding of all the ironies presented but situational irony seems unclear as it requires a "sharp" contrast which seems hard to determine.
This is Sharanjot Raike
DeleteI very much agree with your assessment of the song's use of irony!
Delete1. After listening to the song, I feel like a example of verbal irony is when Morissette says "He won the lottery, and died the next day.". It is ironic because winning the lottery is a symbol of luck because you have a low chance of winning. The fact that he dies after winning contradicts the meaning given to the person that has won.
ReplyDelete2. The Tim Hawkins video (Kid's Rock) is an example of satire because they used modern artist to sing nursery rhymes, making fun of them in the process. The second video (The Government Can) is an example of verbal irony because the guy is making fun of the government and how they act while using a joyful video to convey when he is saying.
3. I had more problem understanding dramatic irony because compared to verbal irony, I do not experience as often, so normally when I hear irony like it, I just bunch it with verbal irony or sarcasm.
1. To me the song has no real good examples of true irony (based on the decisions given) except verbal irony with the man in the plane crash saying "That's nice". Often things that are unlucky can be considered ironic because of there timing but they aren't truly ironic. An example of Verbal irony would be Shrek telling Donkey that "Of course" he can stay with him when he really doesn't want him to, this is ironic because of the tone and Shrek's overall body language in relation to how annoyed he acts toward Donkey.
ReplyDelete2. These videos are both examples of parody, the first one parodies children's songs as modern songs so that adults will like them again and the second one makes government critique into a children's song to parody if children's songs had a serious message.
3. Historical irony is kind of weird in that it requires hindsight but who gets to decide that, it just seems oddly specialized and out of place with the other examples. The literary device that confuses me the most is allusion, I want it to mean allusion to other things in the book, but it really means allusions to popular culture, it just annoys me.
1. After listening to the Morissette song, and example of irony I found was verbal irony. The "crashing plane" part of the song, the man saying, "isn't this nice" represents verbal irony because he was scared to fly and still ended up crashing.
ReplyDelete2. In the Hawkins' Kids' Rock' video, I saw it was an example of a pastiche. The writer uses popular songs and attaches them to known nursery rhymes and makes them sound well together. Now, in the "The Government Can" video, I saw it was an example of satire because he uses mocking lyrics, making fun of the government.
3. The one literary device I found the most confusing was parody, it confuses me the most because other literary devices involve mocking as well.
1: While I find it ironic that there is no irony in a song titled Isn’t It Ironic, I could not find a true example of irony within the song itself. I say this because while some phrases could be considered iron, such as near the beginning of the song in which she states “He won the lottery and died the next day” paired with the latter lyric “and life has a funny way of helping you out” which could be considered verbal irony or even cosmic irony. The definition of those and all forms of irony are strict in my opinion the song does not convey any “true irony”.
ReplyDelete2: The first video is a clear example of parody in which he mimics popular bands from the 80s and 90s. To solidify his use of parody, the YouTuber maintains the distinct style of each band while only changing the lyrics. The second video is both an example of parody and satire. The satire element is much more apparent in the video as he criticizes the government throughout the video by mocking different aspects of the government by making them sound great.
3: I find historic Irony most confusing. The effect of perspective in historical irony stumps me as it relies on a modern perspective and the passage of time (such as the machinegun example). I do not understand how historical irony translates from culture to culture in which the perspective on past events might differ. As we have been told for the past two years of DP English “Perspective is King”. I don't understand how this affects a form of irony that relies on perspective. What this entails is something someone from a Western culture would find historically ironic could not be perceived as irony in a different culture. This leads to the question of what could be perceived as truly historical irony.
1 - There may be verbal irony in the lyrics "isn't that nice" and "life has a funny way of helping you out", since these statements go against what you would think about the situations she mentions. An example of irony in something I have read is Romeo and Juliet because there is dramatic irony in the scene that the audience knows Juliet is not dead, but Romeo believes she is.
ReplyDelete2 - The first video is an example of a parody since it is imitating popular songs to make fun of them lightheartedly. The second video is a more satirical parody because it gives criticism to a part of society, the government, while imitating a song.
3 - Situational irony confused me the most because it is easier for me to notice other forms of irony in media and real life, but I rarely notice situational irony unless it is very obvious. With the other forms of irony I think they are naturally more obvious and cannot be confused with a coincidence or something else.
1. During the song one example of irony I found was when "Mr.Play it safe" took a plane for the first time then the plane crashed, he then commented saying "isn't this nice". This is the perfect example of verbal irony as the plane crashing is the exact opposite of nice as said by the song which is sarcastic as well as an example of verbal irony. This situation could also be presented as situational irony as it would be expected that the plane would land safely but in this case it is ironic that the very plane crashed when it was the mans first time on a plane and the man avoided planes for reasons such as that. One example of irony I have heard is someone saying "isn't this great" when they are presented with a situation which is the exact opposite of great. The phrase "Isn't this great" has been seen in the situation of someone having a test they were unaware of and then saying isn't this great. Having a test and being unprepared is not great which would be an example of verbal irony.
ReplyDelete2.The first video is an example of a parody. Within the first video many common rock songs are being sung but with the lyrics of kids songs such as old Mcdonald had a farm. The kids song is sung to the beat of the rock song in a way that parents would enjoy listening to the kids song as it is a parody of songs from their generation rather than traditional children music. The children songs as well are imitating the rock songs of the past which is an example of a parody. In the second video satire is being used as the video is about mocking the government with the line "The Government Can". The video shames the government and the typical things they do to US citizens which is the intent of satire.
3.The most confusing idea of irony was that of socratic irony. The definition of this irony confused me the most as it is hard for me to comprehend what exactly the purpose of it was as well as when socratic irony would be used.
1. One example of Irony I found within the video is how “life will always help you when you’re down” but will “knock you down when you’re up”. The irony of the situation that when you have everything, you can lose it all within moments and can only watch it crumble. While when you have nothing there is no where to go but up. I believe this to be a form of cosmic irony, as the world creates problems for you when you should have no, and only creates opportunities when you feel like you have none. It’s beautiful to think life has a certain way of humbling you when you believe yourself too accomplished.
ReplyDelete2. The videos provide an interesting take on popular songs during the 2000’s, one set is used to critique the government of its problems, while the other one is a solution to those annoying kids songs parents are forced to listen to. Both are an enjoyable spin on classics.
3. For me, to be completely honest situational irony is a bit confusing. Even after seeing sets of examples I cannot fathom what it could mean? I understand the basics of how it can be used, just not when or why.-Lucien DeSantiago
1. In the Morissette song, there's verbal irony when the man says "isn't this nice" during the crashing plane scene, because he's scared of flying and ends up crashing anyway.
ReplyDelete2. I see the Kid's Rock video as a form of parody, where they cleverly remix popular songs with children's lyrics. On the other hand, "The Government Can" is a prime example of satire, poking fun at government flaws and shortcomings.
3. Irony remains the most perplexing literary device for me. Among these terms, I found pastiche particularly confusing.
1. A main example of irony in the song by Morissette is when mr play it safe was crashing on a plane as he says “well isn’t this nice?”. This is verbally ironic in that the plane crashing is a tragic event and NOT something to be happy about.
ReplyDelete2 . “The Government Can” is a parody of “The Candyman” and is meant to mock the government (such as what they do with our money) by seeming very happy about its actions. “The Candyman”, on the other hand, is meant to be more genuine. In both songs, however, Hawkins is mocking the simplicity of nursery rhymes//childrens songs by emphasizing their musical techniques. “The Government Can” is also an example of satire.
3. The most confusing form of irony, in my opinion, is pastiche vs parody. Both utilize techniques from previous artists or works, but sometimes it can be difficult to tell if the artist is meaning to celebrate or mock the previous piece//person.
One example I found was when she said “A traffic jam, when you’re already late”. This is an example of cosmic irony because it implies that you pretty much only hit traffic jams when you least want to hit a traffic jam and that there are higher powers just toying around with your struggles.
ReplyDeleteThe videos are examples of satire and parody. One video makes parodies of children's songs sung by different people in different tones than the tone they were originally meant to be sung The other video uses satire to make fun of the government by talking about how the government handles the economy. One thing that makes the government mocking video even funnier is that it was released in 2009, soon after the economic depression.
Historical irony was the hardest for me to understand because I have never personally been witness to any obvious historical irony. The literary device I find most confusing is pastiche because it was hard for me to understand the difference between satire and pastiche when I first started learning about literary devices.
1. Socratic irony was the most perplexing definition of irony for me. It was entirely new, and I found it a bit bewildering at first.
ReplyDelete2. The song by Alanis Morissette contains situational irony, exemplified in the line "It's like rain on your wedding day." This situation is unexpected and unwanted by anyone but could happen to anyone.
3. The literary device that puzzled me the most was parody. It was particularly confusing because other literary devices also involve some form of mockery.
1. While Alanis Morisettes song contains many instances of unfortunate coincidences and accidents, it doesn't actually contain any true examples of irony (which could be ironic in and of itself). Even though some may argue that the line about the man on the crash plane saying "Isn't this nice" would be an example of verbal irony, it is actually an example of sarcasm.
ReplyDelete2. The music videos by Tim Hawkins are examples of satire, in the case of "The Government Can", and parody, in the case of "Kids Rock". "Kids Rock" features many examples of parody as he takes well-known and popular songs and replaces their lyrics with children's songs. And while Hawkins does parody and children's song in "The Government Can" he rewrites the lyrics as a satirical piece to make fun of the governments problems and blights.
3. I was definitely confused by the concept of socratic irony as I still don't fully understand what it entails. I am also slightly confused by the "Pastiche" literary device as it just seems like an unnecessary neighbor to parody.
1. The only possible example relating to the Morissette song that I could come up with is that the viewer clicks on a song named "Ironic" expecting there to be some irony, but not hearing any good examples of irony. The artist probably knows what actual irony is but uses the word for her song in the way most people use "irony" in conversation. It could also be ironic for Morissette to knowingly misuse irony. One potential example of irony is related to American rapper, Pop Smoke. In his album Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon, one of the songs is called Got it On Me. This song details how he has a lot of enemies, but he can protect himself since he says, "I got it on me" (referring to a firearm). In the same song, Pop Smoke alludes to the American rapper 50 cent's song Many Men. 50 cent's song Many Men describes similar themes of how a lot of people want him dead, for example he was shot nine times in the year 2000 while in New York. Pop Smoke's song is ironic because while alive, he wrote a song about how he could protect himself from foes by referencing a popular song about the subject. While 50 Cent was shot nine times and survived, Pop Smoke was shot and killed in 2020. This is most likely an example of Cosmic Irony since it seems as if Pop Smoke's fate was against him...
ReplyDelete2. The Kids' Rock video is an example of parody because Hawkins jabs at creators of children's music while also critizing the music itself as annoying. He does this by pretending to be someone who makes this kind of music by parodying famous songs with children themes and songs. The Government Can video is an example of satire because Hawkins critiques the functions/purpose of the government with a humorous song.
3. The most confusing term for me is probably Socratic irony. I feel like we don't see this kind of irony much in the books we read in school or in media outside of politics. This lack of examples creates confusion for me.
1. In Alanis Morisettes song, we see the use of verbal irony in her line "Isn't this nice" while the plane is crashing. Besides that though, there are not many instances of Irony which some may argue could make the entire song in and of itself, Ironic.
ReplyDelete2. Parody is seen in the "Kid's Rock" video as it takes very popular songs and makes the lyrics to match with a more children-like songs. Satire, on the other hand, is seen in the "Government Can" video as they use the lyrics and theme of the song to make fun of short-comings or mistakes of the government.
3. I don't tend to struggle with one form of Irony in paticular, I struggle more with the identification of each piece of Irony. I often get certain examples of Irony mixed up and do not often times know which type is being used for each circumstance.
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ReplyDelete1. Morisette's song depicts situational irony within itself, shown especially in the line "isn't this nice" while the plane is crashing.
ReplyDelete2. One song, "Kid's Rock", remixes popular songs with nursery rhyme's lyrics, making a fun sort of parody. "Government Can" is more serious in its message, but displayed in the same fun way. Both are satirical pieces using nursery rhymes as their point of focus.
3. Socratic irony is a bit complicated for me, most out of all the other ones, but I think I kind of get the gist of it. Without context it's really hard to envision, and for me I need to see an example of it to really understand.
1.The only example I could find was the lack of true irony in the music video. An example of situational Irony is the scene in Finding Nemo where Marlin is debating with Mr. Ray on who is better to watch after Nemo, and during this Nemo runs off without them noticing. This is situational Irony because it only makes sense in the context of the discussion between the two, with keeping Nemo safe.
ReplyDelete2. The first Tim video has a couple devices at play. The first is situational Irony, because the jokes are a lot funnier if you know the bands/songs/singers. The second device is parody, as the songs are recreations and exaggerations of the bands. The third is situational irony again, this time making fun of older commercials and how they would use certain ways of speaking combined with fast paced editing to keep target audiences engaged. The second video is a Satire of the government, pointing out the flaws in the system in a nihilistic way.
3.
The definition that confused me most was Verbal Irony, due to its overlaps with sarcasm, satire, and cosmic irony. They all seem like a blob of the same sort of thing to me, unlike the other terms.
1: Alanis Morisettes song contains verbal irony when "Mr. Play is Safe" says "Isn't that nice" as the plane is crashing. This is verbal irony because this man doesn't actually think the crash is "nice" but uses these words to underplay just how bad the situation really is.
ReplyDelete2:Tim Hawkins' song "The Government Can" uses satirical humor to poke fun at the role of government in society. Through playful lyrics and catchy music he exaggerates the power and influence of the government. This shows how they try to control various aspects of people's lives. This satire invites listeners to think about the potential issues of the government while providing a lighthearted and entertaining perspective on the topic. As for the other video, "Kids' Rock" by Tim Hawkins is a parody because it playfully imitates rock music with lyrics that are funny and normally only for kids.
3: I would say that socratic irony confused me the most. I just wasn't able to conceptual understand it and honestly I still don't completely grasp it, though I believe I have somewhat of an understanding. The example sentence honestly might've hurt my brain a little bit more because it used the word socratic, but it also just had a ton of high level vocabulary words. Looking forward it will be my goal to get a good grasp of this concept. As for literary devices, I would say pastiche would be the most confusing to me but only due to the fact that it was new. Once I learn more in depth of the topic, I should be accustomed to its definition and uses.
1. In Alanis Morisette's song I couldn't find any outright irony besides "Well isn't this nice" from the man in a crashing plane, which was verbal irony. A lot of the examples could be situational irony with a little more context. For instance, if it was a traffic jam caused by the event that the person is going to instead of "a traffic jam when you're already late" would be situational irony.
ReplyDelete2. The first Tim Hawkins video is a Parody of older children's songs, mocking them for initially being boring when created and that they could be fixed with a modern twist. The 'fantastic' visuals from the first video illustrated the new 'quality' as being not very good at all. The second video is satire because it makes fun of the government and all of their shortcomings, while singing it an upbeat tone which adds in some verbal irony
3. I understand Pastiches the least, because I tend to think about irony with a more pessimistic approach-- so it's a bit difficult to think about it as a positive/commerative work of irony. I think I understand verbal irony the most because it is very easy to recognize (if you're looking for literary devices).
1. In the Morissette song, I found an example of situational irony when Mr. Play it Safe was in the airplane that was about to crash. In the midst of such chaos, he thought to himself "Well isn't this nice." This is a perfect example of situational irony to me because there is nothing nice about being in a plane crash (and forced to face the reality that you may very well die in the next 10 seconds). There is nothing positive about that, especially when the cause of ones death is due to another person's mistakes. An example of situational irony I found in the Bible was about Adam and Eve. Before Eve ate the apple, she believed that she would become like God. Tempted by Satan, she ate from it and even convinced Adam to eat it too. After God realized what occurred he sent them to earth (as the first humans). This is ironic because while she believed they would be like God (in heaven) and gain wisdom the results were drastically different. Instead, they were punished and became God's of the Earth (which is farther away from being like God).
ReplyDelete2. In The Kids' Rock video, I found several examples of parody in the songs presented for "Kids Rock" Radio such as "The three blind Mice", and "Old MacDonald had a Farm". Although the principle message is the same as the original songs, the flow and tone are drastically different (taking on more hysterical/punk rock tones) to appeal to today's generation of music taste, rather than traditional children songs.
In the Government Can video, satire can be found in the way Hawkins critiques the American government in its several areas while still taking a light-hearted child like theme. One part of this song that spoke out to me perhaps the most was when Hawkins said "Who can take your money, with a twinkle in their eye." This made me think about how the government can deceive the public by presenting "good" options, (in reference to the twinkle in their eyes) or bright futures in hopes to satisfy their ulterior motives.
3. In terms of which irony is the most confusing for me, I would have to say Socratic irony. I understand how it could be used enlighten someone about their mistakes but I don't see how it could be used in text. I think if I were to see more examples my understanding of this form of irony would be much clearer.
Correction: God told them not to eat from the tree (where the apple was). In a way, they became God's of the Earth, but their perception of God was much different (they had thought they would be like God in Heaven)
Delete1.) A good example of irony from the song would have to be when Morissette said
ReplyDelete“It’s a death row pardon, two minutes too late.”
This is dramatic irony where I believe the listeners know of something but the people in
the situation do not know of anything. Now an example of irony that I have heard of was
about the Titanic, and how people said it was unsinkable, but boy were they wrong. That
is a good example of verbal irony, it was marketed as unsinkable but then later tragically
sank in the ocean. It could also have been the irony of fate.
2.) For the videos, I see the first video as a form of parody, there was a rock sound in the
background while there were little kid songs used for it. As for the other video, it showed
a form of satire because the video shames the government and of its problems. Both
songs however are very enjoyable and classic.
3.) As for some of the ironies, none of them seem to be too confusing, but if choosing one I
would say situational irony or Socratic irony.
1. I found the use of verbal irony in the line “isn’t that nice” when the plane is crashing as the man was afraid of flying his whole life and the moment he gets in the plane it begins to crash and the only thing he can say is “isn’t that nice” to an unlucky and awful situation.
ReplyDelete2. The Government Can video creates a mockery of the government and what they do with all of the money we give them through the use of satire. The Kids Rock video was not making fun of the nursery rhymes and songs it used making it pastiche rather than a satirical piece.
3. Socratic Irony was the most confusing for me considering it’s something we don’t see very often and I just have more experience with the other examples of irony.
1.In the song I heard verbal irony as the first line of the song talks about a man winning the lottery while on the last line of the song talks about the man dying and how life has a funny way of helping us out. The two lyrics contrast by having the man luck has a sarcastic message behind it as the lyric contradicts the meaning of the song of the song by having the lyrics suggest that life is an entity aiding the listener of the song . Another form of irony is cosmic as it is led to believe that the intention with the song is her belief that the mans being against and playing a role in the man’s demise.
ReplyDelete2.The song by Tim Hawkins is an example of parody and satire as the parodies are achieved by the alteration of his well known melodies but also flow with his comedic intention also going with satirical commentary on music radio culture.
3.For me non of them I would consider confusing but it is hard to remember all of the different types of Irony it is easier to rember the categories rathen then all of the little sub plots.
There is verbal irony within Morissette’s song when Mr. Play it safe says “Isn’t that nice” as the plane begins to crash. This happens to be verbal irony as it obviously is not nice that the plane is crashing, especially coming from someone who claims to be “safe”. This word choice is ironic because it downplays how severe the circumstance truly is and adds humor to a serious situation.
ReplyDeleteTim Hawkins first video “Kid’s Rock” uses parody to imitate traditional rock music and recreates the preconceived notions of the music by replacing lyrics and adapting them to children. Tim Hawkins second video “The Government Can” uses satire to make fun of the government’s role within society. This song criticizes and ridicules the government in a lighthearted way while pointing out its flaws.
Of all of the previous definitions, I would say I struggle most with pastiches. I think this is difficult for me to identify because rather than looking for mockery or criticism, pastiches aim to celebrate something. My mind automatically tries to find the irony or social commentary so pastiche just takes me a little longer to identify because it celebrates the object rather than poking fun.
Its meeting the man of your dreams, then meeting his beautiful wife.”there is a Lack of knowledge of the situation in which contradicts the expectation of the singer. Though this is incredibly unofrtuante- it does not suffice as true irony. 2) The type of irony represented in the song by morriset is mainly situational irony such as “ its like rain on your wedding day”. This is about unfortunate things that no one wants to happen. The first video, enlightens kids songs, into a rock form a entertainment, similar to kids bop. The second video makes fun of the government. 3)What confused me the most was socratic irony. The example does not help me understand the definition.
ReplyDelete1. An example of verbal irony in Morissette's song is when the plane begins to crash and Mr. play it safe says "isn't that nice". It is obissy that this would never be a "nice" situation to be placed in, and this was a form of verbal irony.
ReplyDelete2. The song made by Tim hawkins demonstrates parody and humor as well as irony in the form of melody's
3. the most difficult type of irony for me to understand is Socratic irony because its a form I dont feel I see or hear of often.
ReplyDeleteIn the song by Alanis Morissette, it is difficult to find pieces of true irony. However, I am inclined to think that Morissette wrote and titled the song in this way on purpose, rather than out of ignorance. Labeling a song “Ironic” and writing no irony into the lyrics makes me believe that this is possibly an example of situational irony. It could also be an example of Socratic irony if Morisette is purposefully subverting our expectations to force us to slip up when talking about irony. The Tim Hawkins videos on the other hand contain some pieces of irony and some pieces of almost irony. As far as irony goes, the part of the video describing Pearl Jam singing “Old McDonald” definitely seemed like situational irony to me as my expectations were very different for Perl Jam lyrics and repertoire. An example of almost irony is the song, “Three Blind Mice” as sung in the video by Tim Hawkins is a parody of Alanis Morissette’s song “One Hand in My Pocket”; However in the context of the video, this is not ironic as it is a parody. Even when looking at the greater context of our blog post, as it contains another Alanis Morisette song, this is still not ironic as it is only a coincidence that another Morisette song came up in Tim’s video. The definition of cosmic irony confused me a little, I don’t really understand how it differs from some of the “simpler” types of irony like verbal and/or situational. As far as literary devices in general, I have always found that finding the difference between some allusions and idioms can be fairly confusing as some idioms are rooted in outside context.
1- There's an example of verbal irony present in the song when the author narrates the story about "Mr. Play it Safe". When he finally decided to take his flight the plane crashed down and his line "Well isn't this nice" is an example of both sarcasm and verbal irony as the man's words conveyed the opposite of his true beliefs.
ReplyDeleteRight now I'm reading a captivating book called The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. In one of the passages, the author uses dramatic irony when the dad tells his daughter that he has killed her lover, and the daughter, disconsolately, begins to cry. What her daughter doesn't know is that her father is lying and her lover is still alive. To raise the stakes even more, the dad obligates the daughter to marry another man, and the daughter's lover finds out and decides not to find her. This is an example of dramatic irony as the audience knows everything that is happening but the characters are unaware of it. Definitely a book that I'll recommend by the way :)
2- The first video "Kids' Rock" by Tim Hawkins is an example of parody as it is creating new versions of kids' songs to create humor. The second video "The Government Can" by Tim Hawkins is an example of satire as it uses humor to elaborate a critique to the government at the same time that is ridiculing it.
3- For me the explanations of the definitions were pretty clear. I think the difficult part would be to put into practice and create Socratic Irony and Cosmic Irony, given that they are not used very often.
1. An example of true irony that I found in the song was "Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly". It suggests if he was so cautious and a worried person, it would not have been expected for him to take this risk especially with his feelings about it.
ReplyDelete2. The first Tim Hawkins song uses both strageties seen in parodies and pastiches. Hawkins makes parodies of hard rock songs and recreates them with the lyrics of nursery rhymes. It creates a humorous and new version of the song people love and enjoy. The second video is an example of stirical irony as it criticizes the government for problematic actions they have made whilke still uses a playful tone which can also be vital in efforts to avoid backlash.
3. I would say that while still different, the fine line between pastiches and parodies can still confuse me.
ReplyDeleteVerbal irony is evident in Morissette's song when Mr. Play it Safe remarks "Isn't that nice" as the plane starts to crash. This instance is ironic as it's obviously not a pleasant situation, especially from someone who prides themselves on being "safe". The choice of words downplays the severity of the situation, injecting humor into a serious moment.
Tim Hawkins' first video, "Kid's Rock," employs parody to mimic traditional rock music, altering lyrics to suit children. In his second video, "The Government Can," satire is used to mock the government's societal role. This song humorously criticizes governmental flaws in a light-hearted manner.
Among the previously mentioned literary devices, pastiches pose the greatest challenge for me. Identifying them is difficult because, unlike satire or irony, pastiches celebrate rather than criticize. My tendency to seek irony or social commentary slows my recognition of pastiches, which celebrate the subject rather than poking fun at it.
The line "Isn't that nice" from "Mr. Play is Safe" in the Alanis Morisette song is an example of verbal irony. This is a case of verbal irony since the man uses these words to downplay how terrible the situation actually is, even though he doesn't genuinely think the crash is "nice".
ReplyDelete“Kids Rock” is an example of a parody since it plays along with well-known children songs in a humorous manner. “The Government Can” is a more satirical parody since it mimics a song while criticizing the government, a segment of society.
Socratic irony was the type of irony that I found the most difficult to understand because of ignorance's function in making anything appear contrary to what is intended or meant.
1. In Morissette’s music video, there is a prime example of true and verbal irony in the lines “And as the plane crashed down he thought “well isn’t this nice…” as the plane is crashing to the ground. It is ironic because the man, Mr.Play It Safe, finally gets on his first plane after the fear he had condoned his whole life and the worst thing that could possibly happen had happened to him. His reaction of the plane crashing being “nice” is ironic due to the contrast in previous fears of flying and his sarcastic response to his tragic death.
ReplyDeleteAn example of irony that I have heard was the irony of a fire station burning down. This situation is ironic because the fire station and the fire department, which is supposed to help buildings that are burning, have burned down themselves.
2. The Tim Hawkins songs are examples of parody and satire because of their mockery of popular songs for children. They used rock songs to make fun of the music and aged the songs up to be targeted towards older audiences. This makes the tranquil children's lullabies sound violent and aggressive.
3. I think that cosmic irony is partially confusing because it isn’t as common as the other forms of irony. I feel like I haven’t run into many cosmic ironic situations and this form is hard to detect.
1. The line "Isn't that nice" from "Mr. Play is Safe" in the Alanis Morisettes song is an example of verbal irony. This is a case of verbal irony since the man uses these words to downplay how terrible the situation actually is, even though he doesn't genuinely think the crash is "nice".
ReplyDelete2.The song "The Government Can" by Tim Hawkins parodies the function of government in society with satirical irony. He exaggerates the authority and influence of the government with an upbeat song. This demonstrates how they attempt to manipulate several facets of people's lives. This song offers a fun and amusing perspective on the subject while encouraging listeners to consider the possible problems with the government. Regarding the other video, Tim Hawkins' "Kids' Rock" is a parody since it mocks up rock music with humorous lyrics that are for kids.
3. If I had to choose one type of irony that confuses me the most, I would have to choose Socratic irony. Though I don't see how it might be used in a book, I can see how it could be used to teach someone about their mistakes. I believe my comprehension of this type of irony would be lot clearer if I got to see more examples.
1. I would say that there are no instances in 'Ironic' as even the line "well isn't this nice?", which would typically be used in an ironic sense, it seems to me that the man is genuinely relieved that his fears have been affirmed and that he was right all along, meaning he would actually find it nice. A great example of verbal irony that I frequently think of is when Nicely Nicely Johnson responds "Nicely, Nicely, thanks" when asked how he's doing when everything has fallen apart for the cast.
ReplyDelete2. "Kids rock" is an example of parody as it is an imitation of popular bands for comedy purposes, and "The Government Can" is satire as it's lambasting all of the American Government's issues.
3.Of all of the definitions provided I guess I'd have to say pastiche because even though I'm not especially confused about the meaning of it, it's the definition I'm least familiar with and I have no examples in my life to relate it to.
Morissette’s song didn’t seem to have any true pieces of irony; most of the words said were just unfortunate situations. A person getting a perfect attendance award and not being there to receive it is an example I have heard a lot and his a well known example for situational irony
ReplyDeleteThe first video is an example of parody because it is a song remaking old fairy tales. The second one is satire because it is making fun of the government and how much money the people pay them and how they can tax everything
The historical irony is the one definition that is a little hard for me to understand or see an example and know it is historical irony
I think there was definitely irony with Alanis Morissette's song, however the "true" definition of irony could be up for debate, one example she used was having "10,000 spoons, when all you need is a knife". This is situational irony, because in this situation, the one thing you need has run out, and the thing you do not need, is plentiful.
ReplyDeleteIn Taylor Swift's song "Happiness" from evermore, it use verbal irony, as the title misleads the audience to think it is a joyful song, but then details a very painful breakup, causing heartache and sorrow for the writer, which is verbally ironic because the feelings described are anything but happiness.
The first video (Alanis Morissette) was verbal/situational irony, the second video (Kid's rock) was a parody, and the third video (The Government Can), is satire.
Pastiche was the type of irony that confused me the most, only because it is meant to, in a sense, praise someone instead of parody them. I thought irony normally was used in cases of humor, so I am a little lost on how this is creates ironic meaning for a piece of work (also how is it not the same as alluding to an author/being inspired by their work).
1. In Morrissette's song it can be argued that the song contains verbal irony by contrasting its opening and closing lines. An elderly man who had won the lottery and passed away the next day is described in the first lines, while the final line expresses the idea that "Life has a funny, funny way helping you out." Given his recent success, the contrast between the man's death and her final line suggests ironic emphasis.
ReplyDeleteIn my our readings in class one novel that comes to mind when talking about irony is Cyrano de Bergerac. The dramatic irony between characters made it funny to readers but in some cases made me frustrated.
2. A collection of rock songs called "Kid's Rock" is based on rhymes and children's books. This collection is a parody because it makes fun of the way joyful kids use louder music to make them sound angry. "The Government Can" asserts that the government is unaccountable and free to act however they like.
3. Cosmic irony is the irony that I find most challenging to understand. I have trouble understanding it because this is the first time I've ever heard of this form of irony. I also have trouble identifying and recognizing it in other literary works.
1) I believe that true examples of Irony can be lost on people as people so commonly use it to refer to situations that are simply bad luck or unfortunate situations. This song emphasizes that very fact as when most people listen to it we are not seeing it through a critical eye and would consider the citations presented to be ironic, and although many of them could be if phrased in a different context most of the instances in the song are simply bad luck. Yet the song does offer some cases of verbal irony and cosmic irony, such as “Mr.Play it Safe” saying “sign this nice” right as the plane crashed and “Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you ” followed shortly by “And life has a funny way of helping you out” as it refers to life as some higher power while also using verbal irony to contradict this last statement. A sense of sarcasm as life isn't helping you out when “everything blows up in your face”.
ReplyDelete2) The First Tim Hawkins Video is a great example of parody, and how it can be used for comedic effect. It imitates traditional soft and calm children's rhymes in the classic style of famous rock artists. The second video acts as both a parody and satire specifically in how it pokes fun at the government through the parody of the song “The Candy Man '' in which it insults the government and all the awful things they’re capable of.
3)I believe the definition that confused me the most was Socratic irony. I understand that it is used in arguments, but I’m curious about the exact examples of its usage and how it differs from other scenarios.
1In the Alanis Morissette song the man who got a “death row pardon two minutes too late” is an example of situational irony because neither the man nor the executors knew that he was going to get a pardon, which would’ve saved his life, but instead he was killed anyway because the pardon came too late. In Macbeth, a book we read last year, King Duncan says that he trusts Macbeth. This is an example of dramatic irony because we know that Macbeth is secretly planning to kill King Duncan.
ReplyDelete2. The first Tim Hawkins video “Kids Rock” is an example of pastiche, as the point of the video is that old popular kids' nursery songs can be made better by making them sound more like modern songs so that they’re easier to listen to. But nobody is actually going to listen to Nickleback sing “Humpty Dumpty” (nor will they sing it) The second Tim Hawkins video “The Government Can” is an example of parody and satire because he takes other songs and imitates them by replacing the lyrics to criticizes the government and how they treat people.
3.The definition that confuses me is Socratic Irony, I’ve never heard of it before and I just don’t really understand how it's used.
1.The only example I found of true irony in the song was the verbal irony of “Mr. play it safe” when he said “This is nice” as the plane crashed. An example of irony in something I've seen is in the Hunger games movies, specifically the newest one. It was an example of dramatic irony because both the audience and a specific character knows the reason for someone’s death but others, namely the parents of the deceased do not know and thus still trust the ‘killer’. (I’m trying not to put any spoilers for those who haven’t watched).
ReplyDelete2.Both videos are examples of satire. The first video is mocking children's songs and uses the simple and childish pictures to make it seem as though not much effort was put in. The second video is mocking the government and everything the government does.
3.The definition that confuses me the most is parody. I don’t quite understand why it is necessary. Is it just an umbrella definition for satire and pastiche? Or is it used to define a work that doesn’t clearly fall under either of the other two categories? I mostly find it confusing because with satire and pastiche being available I have a hard time knowing when to use it.