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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
Verbal Irony
Explanation and Analysis—Mr. Henderson’s Sarcasm:
Throughout the story, the men use verbal irony to mock Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters for caring about domestic activities and “trifles,” such as Mrs. Wright’s abandoned canning jars and unfinished quilt. The final lines of the story contain one such example of this use of irony:
"Well, Henry," said the county attorney facetiously, "at least we found out that she was not going to quilt it. She was going to—what is it you call it, ladies?" […]
"Knot it," was [Mrs. Hale’s] low reply.
He did not see her eyes.
The verbal irony in this passage—in which George states, "at least we found out that she was not going to quilt it”—is an example of biting sarcasm. George does not actually care how Mrs. Wright was approaching her quilting project, but uses this moment to mock Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters for the fact that they cared about such a thing. The fact that “he did not see her eyes” shows how George doesn’t actually care about—or respect—Mrs. Hale's answer and does not see her for the powerful—and equal—person that she is.
Mrs. Hale’s “low” response shows that she does not want to answer his taunting question, but she does so anyway because she’s aware that he is a man with power and, according to the unwritten rules of American society in the early 1910s, she has to respond to him with deference.
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