In your own words, define and give an example of paradox, overstatement, understatement, and each of the three kinds of irony.

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Linus

English

6 May, 17:18

In your own words, define and give an example of paradox, overstatement, understatement, and each of the three kinds of irony.

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Beckett Gillespie · Answer 1

Paradox: A statement, situation or proposition that is self-contradictory.

Example:

1. "all together" is written separately and "separated" is written all together. The paradox here is that the word "All together" is written separately and "Separated" is written all together.

Overstatement: An overstatement is the action of expressing something in a way that makes it seem better, larger, more important, etc.

Example:

" My mother is the best mother EVER. She is like a god, she doesn't make any mistakes".

All mothers are perfect for their children, but the truth is that there is no such thing as a perfect mother, every single human makes mistakes. So, saying that a person is a god or he/she doesn't make any mistakes (we all do) is quite an overstatement.

Understatement: An understatement is the action of expressing something in a way that makes it seem smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.

Example: "My brother has an accident but it's not that serious. He just needs to keep at rest for 6 months and he will be able to walk again".

Keeping rest for 6 months indicates that what this poor person is experiencing is a serious thing. Saying that it was't "that serious" is an understatement.

Three kinds of irony:

- Verbal Irony: A verbal irony occurs when a speaker says one thing but means another.

Example: "I lost my house, my car and all my money. Today is my lucky day".

The speaker says that "Today is my lucky day" but actually it's he/she worst day, because he/she lost his/her house, car and money!

- Situational Irony: A situational irony referst to a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended.

Example: A pilot has a fear of heights.

This situation is ironic because pilots are supposed to spend most of their time in heights. So having fear of heights is an irony.

- Dramatic Irony: Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something that the characters do not know.

Example: A woman thinks her boyfriend is acting strangely because he's about to propose, but the audience knows that he is planning to run away with another woman.

In this case, the audience knows that he's about to run away with another woman, and the character (the woman) thinks that her boyfriend is going to propose.