The Problem With Irony
Less irony, more poetry
Irony is generally defined as a figure of speech that consists in saying something different — usually the opposite — of what one thinks, or feels, and wants to be heard. Irony may fuel satire, a type of indirect wit that is meant to mock human vices or faults, with the intention of conveying across society a norm opposed to an unsatisfactory state of affairs, for people to sit up, think, and question the status quo.
Irony is not easily defined, nor spotted — we usually sense it without being able to clearly describe it — and if we’re not careful enough it can quite easily become a vehicle for nihilism, shouting obvious condescending fatalism, overplaying disillusioned negativity, and merely masking some opportunistic cynicism. Irony as a means of confronting reality may well lead to a means of avoiding it, as if the courage to be serious, even with humor, has become too unsettling to be confronted even indirectly.
Irony may often turn into parody, solely intended to provide comic relief, while pretending to some trendy self-mockery, multiplying meta pirouettes, contradictory discourses, and where we finally lose all bearings. Leveraging on its more or less socially acceptable way to express hostility, irony may even become plain sarcasm, mocking others with…
