Irony and what actually makes ironic humor can be difficult to grasp, at least partly because there are actually two distinct forms of irony, one of which is commonly confused with sarcasm, which is actually something quite different. I think that that is a real shame because it is my favourite kind of humour and I would love it if comedians used it more often - which I'm sure would be the case if more people understood what it is all about and how to be ironic in a funny way. Not only can irony be incredibly funny but it can also be very witty, in the sense of also being intelligent and bringing attention to some aspect of life in a revealing manner. It is a beautifully dry and almost pessimistic kind of humour, and can be quite cutting in the way that sarcasm can, but without the streak of cruelty and implied superiority which is pretty much universally present when someone is being sarcastic.

So I have decided to write this hub in an attempt to both explain what irony is and hopefully in the process to highlight it's best aspects and impart some small understanding of how to use irony to be funny.

The first form of irony is actually quite easy to explain and is the one that is generally known. Basically it is anything which highlights the perversity of fate in a comedic fashion. This generally means a set of circumstances or an event which contains some kind of apparent contradiction, rather than the attitude of a person. Here is a classic of this type: a school play telling the story of Noah's ark has to be cancelled - because the school gets flooded. It is obviously ironic that the reason for a play about the story of Noah being cancelled is because the is a flood. Here's another one - the social research firm experian set out to study the rates of pet ownership in different parts of the UK. When the results came in they found that the place with the highest level of dog ownership in Britain is an Essex town called Barking.

This is the simple type of irony, and actually contains the basic principle behind the more elusive kind which many people don't recognize and tend to conflate with sarcasm. This second form takes this same principle, but rather than being a description of a set of events or circumstances, it becomes an attitude that a person takes, or is a statement directed at others, or more usually at people and society in general. It is actually remarkably difficult to pin this form down in a logical definition, but I think I can explain it quite well by using an example that I think is as close as you can get to perfect irony. Unsurprisingly this example comes from the genius that was Monty Python. Take a look at this short video:

In this scene from the Life of Brian, Brian himself is standing at the balcony trying to convince the masses that he is not the messiah. He tells them they are all individuals and that they are all different, and in one voide the masses repeat together "yes, we are all individuals, yes we are all different", and then one lone voice pipes up "I'm not!"

I don't know if this made you laugh as much as I have many times when I've watched it, but I think that this is Monty Python at their best. But why is that ironic? Well, firstly by being the only one to say that he is not an individual and not different he makes himself different from everyone else. This is the same kind of contradiction, here between what is said and what it reveals to be true, that is also found in the first type of irony between an abstract concept and a specific fact or event. But secondly, and perhaps more importantly, he further highlights the fact that none of the others are acting like individuals, and that they are all acting in exactly the same way as each other. Notice that it therefore serves to mock the others, even though it isn't directed at them. There is of course a major similarity with sacrasm in that he is saying exactly the opposite to the truth that he is highlighting, but if this is sarcasm it is a strange passive aggressive kind, which mocks others through making a mockery of yourself, rather than being imperious and superior and directing mockery at someone to cut them down.

If you want other examples of irony just watch any Monty Python and keep an eye out for them, you won't have to wait long.