The Significance of Irony as a Master Trope

Linguists make a distinction between Surface Structure (Phonology, Graphology, Morphology, and Syntax) and Deep Structure (Semantics and Pragmatics). Rhetoricians make a similar distinction which they call Schemes (Alliteration, Assonance, Rhyme, Slant Rhyme, Eye Rhyme, Scansion, etc.), and Tropes (Metaphor, Metonymy, Synecdoche, Irony, etc.). This article makes the claim that for humor scholars, Irony is the most significant of the four Master Tropes. It makes this argument first by comparing and contrasting Irony not only with Metaphor, Metonymy and Synecdoche, but also with Satire, Paradox, and Contradiction. Second, the article compares and contrasts the different types of Irony (Stable vs. Observable Irony, Linguistic vs. Situational Irony, and Accidental, Dramatic, Socratic, and Tragic Irony). And finally, the article explains the historical significance of Irony, and its ubiquity in contemporary society