Irony Example Categorization

Ouroboros serpent forming a circle by consuming its own tail — **Ouroboros** The serpent is both actor and object; the action turns back on its own source. Theodoros Pelecanos, 1478; public domain.

This project is an attempt to numerically describe the degrees and dimensions of the hard-to-nail-down feeling we call "irony." The categories and their values are subjective.

There is deliberately no binary "Is this irony?" property. The "Twinge Factor" is an attempt to capture the strength of that vague "I know it when I see it" response.

Each example gets its particular twinge from a different blend of incongruity, humor, poignancy, reversal, hypocrisy, cosmic karma, and the strange mental re-review that makes a situation feel ironic.

A little more background about the beginnings of this effort is described in this blog post.

A stop sign defaced with the instruction Stop defacing stop signs — **Stop defacing stop signs** The instruction is delivered by doing the thing it prohibits. The message performs its own violation. Photograph by Scheinwerfermann / Wikimedia Commons.

Categorization of Irony Examples