Irony (The New Critical Idiom): Irony (The New Critical Idiom)

Irony (The New Critical Idiom)

IRONY

In a postmodern era of simulation, mass communication and disenchantment, how are we to distinguish sincerity from irony?

Irony is both a figure of speech—saying one thing and meaning another—and an attitude to existence, in which the ironic subject adopts a position of scepticism and mistrust in relation to everyday language. In this clear, user-friendly guide, Claire Colebrook provides an historical and theoretical overview of irony, tracing its development from Socrates to the present day, and explores the challenge that irony presents to communication and representation in literature today.

This is the essential guide for any student of literary theory looking to unravel the many theories of this complex subject.

Claire Colebrook teaches English at the University of Edinburgh. Her publications include Gilles Deleuze (2002), in the Routledge Critical Thinkers series, and Irony in the Work of Philosophy (2003).