What is the difference between oxymoron and irony?

Answer 1

An oxymoron refers to the name of something which contains two words which would normally have conflicting meanings but when combined form something entirely new.

For example: 'living dead' or 'jumbo shrimp'. Living and dead are normally the opposites of each other; but, when used together take on a new meaning (living dead typically being a reference to Zombies or other fictional creatures). The reference itself living dead is the oxymoron.

Irony on the other hand is far more complex; there are several types of irony such as communicative (verbal or written); dramatic and situational.

Irony (in communicating) is an expression of one's meaning which is being used to signify the opposite of the literal meaning. It is often used when speaking to create either humor or sardonic remarks.

Example: 'This is as simple as brain surgery'; in this case it is assumed by the speaker that everyone listening knows brain surgery is not simple; therefore, whatever task is being referenced is implied to be at least as difficult as brain surgery.

Situational irony is where the actual outcome of a situation is the opposite of the expected results or when the situation being observed is in contrast to what might be considered expected.

Examples: Having your friend call your cell phone to offer you a ride home after you've already bothered to walk home and no longer need one. Watching a tow truck being towed. Meeting a marriage counselor with many divorces of his own.

With dramatic irony, there is a contrast between reality (the way things really are) and appearances (the way things seem to be) that has been created within a performance piece. Basically the audience has information unknown to the characters and their lack of knowledge creates dramatic tension which is then used to stir emotions in the viewer.

An example of Dramatic Irony can be seen in the movie Titanic, as characters are talking about the sturdiness of the 'unsinkable' ship, but as a viewer we all know how the movie ends. In this case the characters are not intending to be ironic; but the reality of the inevitable conclusion makes it ironic.