“Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.”
"What an irony!",
we often say when the apparent happening is somewhat opposite to the
expected situation. There is a complexity of emotions, a contradiction of expected
results when this thought strikes our mind. Sometimes hilarious but often heart breaking; ironies surround us everywhere, what is required - an observant eye
to perceive it.
People who are extremely
cautious and re-check their steps frequently are always bed-ridden, usually end
up forgetting something. While there are those who take the leap of faith,
decide once, look around and jump off the cliff, bothering least about the
consequences. Such kind of people often achieve what they desire without a
scratch, while the onlookers stare with their jaws dropped, amazed on the irony
of the situation and cursing their cowardice.
One of the most fascinating
form of irony is our own self. We are "something" inside, with our
fears, desires, regrets, insecurities, expectations, guilts and incompetencies.
But what we project to the outside world? We project what we "wish"
to be. We even guide people around us to handle situations we ourselves could
never face if subjected to. For example, people who could not get through the
IIT-JEE exam after all their attempts, guarantee your kid's admission in the top
college regardless of the kid's own caliber or interest.
In literature or even while talking generally, irony is used to add fun to the conversation or explain
something which is contrary to general expectation. It is fun to humor your
friends by hurling random ironic statements like "The most silent place
to study at my university is the cafeteria and not the library or the study
room?" Being a part of speech used on a regular basis,
ironies are familiar to many of us. Of course, we never look into whether the
usage is correct or not. Found a website http://www.isitironic.com/ where we can actually check whether our usage of
irony is correct or not. This website is entertaining and enlightening at the
same time. Readers will cast their own vote –
you can see the percentages of the votes – and the website will provide the
final yes or no verdict.
Some of the best
entries from this website are mentioned:
- Is it ironic that the
creative process (for writing) actually kills my creativity?...
83% ironic 17% not
ironic
- The most silent place to study
at my university is the cafeteria and not the library or the study room?...
75% ironic 25% not
ironic
- My school email
system marks as spam, email that is sent from the school itself?...
89% ironic 11% not ironic
- After Christmas a
person who hates Christmas time says "Thank God" when it is over....
75% ironic 25% not
ironic
- Having noted that
most people do not understand the meaning of irony, we now have a crowd-sourced
website that uses majority rule voting to decide what is and is not ironic....
83% ironic 17% not
ironic
- The bank charges you
extra money for not having enough money in your account?...
86% ironic 14% not
ironic
- I posted a generalized
statement on Facebook about being disappointed in people's behavior and the
person I am aiming it at unknowingly likes my post?...
83% ironic 17% not
ironic
- I said "I made
a typo" and then misspelled typo?
86% ironic 14% not
ironic
- I took the advice
from the Charlie Chaplin song, "smile", with the lyric: "smile
even though your heart is breaking"... which I did at a funeral. I
was kicked out the funeral because people thought I was happy the deceased was
dead. And because of the lyric: "smile through your fear", I smiled
at a scary man who was growling at me and he punched me because he thought I
was disrespecting him....
90% ironic 10% not
ironic
- Benedict
Cumberbatch, who narrated a documentary where he mispronounced the word
"penguins" numerous times, starred in the "Madagascar"
spin-off film "Penguins" of Madagascar!!...
78% ironic 22% not
ironic
So, irony comes from
contradiction between the apparent and traditional. I am an engineering
graduate in electronics and communication branch, currently working in a
software company, writing a general humor blog with a defective mobile phone.
(Those
who think it is ironic, please explain those who didn't get it) :P
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.”
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