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This paper starts from the premise that Sperber and Wilson's account of verbal irony is adequate and generalizable. It can be successfully extended to account for verbal irony in literary discourse by paying particular attention to the questions of attribution, recontextualization and attitude communication. The paper further argues that pragmatics of verbal irony should, however, combine this account with a consideration of the functions or effects for which this phenomenon is used in discourse. It is suggested here that this can be achieved through a treatment of sociolinguistic and psychological issues like politeness, solidarity and power, particularly in relation to the manipulative function of irony. These points are illustrated through the analysis of Mark Antony's speech in "Julius Caesar," where he gradually builds irony up and uses it effectively in order to turn the originally resentful crowds into allies fighting against Brutus. (Contains 22 references.) (Author)

This paper explores some of the characteristics of literary discourse (interaction, dialogism, and reciprocity between authors and readers on the one hand, and the multilayeredness of the levels of discourse, on the other) in their relation to the communication of verbal irony as a form of secret communion, drawing particularly on Sperber and Wilson's approach to the subject. The role of genre-related expectations, the notions of Given and New, and mutual knowledge in comprehension is also touched upon, especially in relation to irony in literary discourse. (Contains 29 references.) (Author)

The insights provided by Rasch analysis of results from a literature test were explored. Students in grades 9, 10, and 11 (n=261) responded to a 28-item test before they received one of three treatments: (1) direct instruction, based on research on metacognition in reading, which attempts to give conscious control of strategies used to understand irony; (2) a tacit method, which seeks to have students develop their own strategies through extended practice with the genre; and (3) no treatment. The test made four statements about each of seven poems, five of which were ironic, and asked respondents to strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree with each statement. A revised posttest with additional ironic poems was taken by 253 students. Test analysis suggested that the interaction of confidence and understanding in some students made dichotomous scoring preferable to step scoring. Analysis, especially of the new poems on the posttest, suggested that the belief under attack as well as the difficulty of the language in the poems contributed to students' difficulties in understanding irony. Analysis of pretests and posttests indicated that experimental treatments had equal effects on students regardless of initial ability, although the direct treatment may have been more beneficial for the least able students and for the most difficult tasks. The test proved to be a reliable measure of students' understanding of irony in poetry. Results illustrate the benefits of Rasch analysis in test construction, interpretation, and scoring. Five data tables are provided, and the test is included. (SLD)

Focuses on children's developing ability to recognize ironic and sarcastic speech acts. Reviews several theoretical approaches to examining nonliteral language processes, outlined by linguists concerned with adults' use of discourse irony. Reviews research pertaining to children's comprehension of irony and sarcasm. (Author/KB)

Investigates commonalities between creative processes and features of an impending "postmodern" age. Postmodern consciousness, it is argued, heralds an era of renewed creativity, partly because the fractured view of the self it promotes, with its emphasis on paradox and irony, appears well-equipped to encourage creative expression. (Author/CR)

Because so little research has been conducted on methods of teaching literature, two separate but related studies were conducted to (1) examine what it means to understand stable irony, and (2) to compare two methods, direct and tacit, of teaching stable irony. A 36-item test, comprised of questions about 7 ironic poems and 2 nonironic poems, calibrated for difficulty according to Rasch analysis, was administered to 514 students. In addition, 4 experienced high school English teachers and 12 students were interviewed and asked to respond to 2 other ironic poems. Results of the written test showed that the ironic items were in general more difficult to explicate than the nonironic items. The interviews suggested that the students had difficulty detecting the presence of irony. Four high school teachers and their classes participated in the second study comparing the direct method of teaching irony, based on metacognition and Booth's (1974) four steps of reconstructing irony, and the tacit method, which gives students more exposure to ironic poems. Control groups were given no specific instruction on irony. Results showed that the direct and tacit methods achieved a statistically significant difference in comparison with the control groups, but that there is little statistical significance between direct and tacit methods. The study suggests that college bound high school students need to be instructed in reading skills, to prevent misreading, and researchers might look into the effectiveness of small group work versus large group work. The test used in the study is appended. (JC)

Five- through 9-year olds and adults heard ironic and literal criticisms and literal compliments. Found that comprehension of irony emerged between 5 and 6 years; and ratings of humor in irony increased with age but ratings of meanness in irony did not. (BC)

Reports on the results of four experiments that show that people can recognize ironic meanings that were not intended, and that processing unintended irony can be done easily precisely because speakers' utterances, unbeknownst to them, create ironic situations. Discusses implications for psycholinguistic theories of irony comprehension and for intentional theories of ordinary language use. (PA)

Investigates the social payoffs of speaking ironically. Suggests that speakers choose irony over literal language in order to be funny, to soften the edge of an insult, to show themselves to be in control of their emotions, and to avoid damaging their relationship with the addressee. (SR)

Proposes that irony be viewed as a mode of indirect negation. Describes the multifaceted cognitive processes that are enlisted as a speaker interprets ironical statements. Gives an overview of past research on irony and presents a new interpretation of the ironic mode. (HB)

Tested 6- and 8-year olds' ability to construct irony in story-completion tasks. Found that story stems based on familiar events, for which structured, detailed representations are available, facilitated irony more than did less-familiar activities, supporting irony as a metarepresentational skill. Young children's irony manipulated cognitively simpler representations than did older children's, although neither group accomplished irony easily. (TM)

Data from 4 experiments in which 136 college students read a situation description and took the perspective of an uninformed addressee to determine whether a speaker was sarcastic suggest that readers use perspective-irrelevant information. The finding poses a problem for theories of language that assume the use of only relevant information. (SLD)

Finds that approximately 40% of the variance in adult sons' reports of fathers' messages (sarcasm, criticism, and verbal aggressiveness) was attributable to fathers' self-reported argumentativeness and verbal aggression. (SR)

Examines three news stories to illustrate how journalists can use irony to undercut and even reverse the literal or ostensible meaning of what is being reported. Argues that, by issuing its judgment quietly, irony renders morality a private matter, which is arguably dysfunctional in a society where the role of the press is to foster public debate and discussion. (SR)

Finds that adult males' perceptions of criticism and sarcasm from their fathers significantly and independently contributed to males' perceived confirmation from their fathers. Shows that a causal model using these three variables to predict females' reports of males' relational communication accounted for a significant percentage of variance in their disconfirmation behavior. (SR)