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Definition of Verbal Irony
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging outside and someone remarks "what... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean... read full definition
Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Kidnapped in the Capital:
That Solomon ends up being kidnapped while visiting the nation’s capital—the symbol of freedom and democracy—is an example of situational irony. He notes the irony of this as he is being transferred from the slave pen to the ship that takes him to Louisiana (the passage also contains an allusion to the song "Hail, Columbia"):
So we passed, hand-cuffed and in silence, through the streets of Washington—through the Capital of a nation, whose theory of government, we are told, rests on the foundation of man’s inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness! Hail! Columbia, happy land, indeed!
While the act of being chained in a city that claims to represent freedom makes this an example of situational irony, Solomon also uses verbal irony in this passage by sarcastically exclaiming that Washington, D.C. is a “happy land,” when, of course, the opposite is true for him in this moment. He ironically encourages readers to “hail” the nation’s capital, a moment when his bitter resentment about slavery and racism comes through. (This is also an allusion to the song “Hail, Columbia” which used to be one of the U.S.'s several national anthems.) Here ,Solomon is not just highlighting the irony of this moment in his individual life, but the irony of slavery being allowed at all in a country that claims to prioritize liberty above all else.
Related Themes:
