Alanis's song "ironic" used improperly?

Question

The other day a friend of mine commented how her old friend stated how in Alanis Morrisette's song, "Ironic", none of the things described in this song are actually "ironic".

So, how do you properly use "ironic"? What is wrong with the way it is used in the song?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

The situations that Alanis's song describes are not exactly ironic, but may bear a passing (VERY passing) resemblance to it. Irony is when something happens that seems deliberately contrary to what is expected, and often is amusing as a result. So, when she says "it's like rain on your wedding day," one could argue that this is possibly unexpected, but seems more like bad luck than anything else. Similarly, "a free ride when you are already there," appears to be bad timing more than "opposite to what is expected".

My opinion? Your friend is right! I still kind of like the song, though.

Some thoughts on "cosmic irony".

First, this is what wikipedia says about it:

Irony of fate (cosmic irony)

The common household expression “irony of fate” stems from the notion that the gods (or the Fates) are amusing themselves by toying with the minds of mortals, with deliberate ironic intent. Closely connected with situational irony, it arises from sharp contrasts between reality and human ideals, or between human intentions and actual results.

For example:

* In 1974 the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 80,000 of its own lapel buttons promoting toy safety. The buttons had paint with too much lead, sharp edges, and clips that could be broken off and swallowed. [3]
* Importing Cane Toads to Australia to protect the environment only to create worse environmental problems for Australia.
* Jim Fixx, who did much to popularize jogging as a form of healthy exercise in his 1977 book The Complete Book of Running, died at the age of 52 of a heart attack (a death associated with sedentary, unhealthy lifestyles) while out jogging.
* In the Kalgoorlie (Australia) gold rush of the 1890s, large amounts of the little-known mineral calaverite (gold telluride) were identified as fool's gold, and were discarded. The mineral deposits were used as a building material, and for the filling of potholes and ruts. (Several years later, the nature of the mineral was identified, leading to a minor gold rush to excavate the streets).

So, that being understood, I still don't think that Alanis's "ironic" situations really fit in the category of "cosmic". Keeping in mind that with this irony there are " sharp contrasts between reality and human ideals, or between human intentions and actual results," does this really describe rain on a wedding day? Yes, it would be preferable to not have rain on a wedding day, but if it occurs, is this truly ironic? Is cosmic irony just bad luck? I think it is more than this. The weather is not under our control, and we must always expect that it will change despite our ardent desires for it to remain sunny and blue-skied. So, is rain really an unexpected phenomenon? Looking at the example of the jogger in wikipedia, one could argue that this is also a case of bad luck. However, the fact that joggers are thought to be very healthy individuals, and therefore LESS likely to have heart problems is what makes that situation ironic. Just because a bride decides to get married on a certain day does NOT make it less likely it will rain! We hope, we pray, we do an anti-rain dance, but in the end nothing we can do can prevent rain from falling, and if it does fall, should we really be surprised? I think not. This kind of irony works best when the assumed outcome of actions or situations is one way and things end up entirely opposite, and no one else would likely have seen the outcome being this way either. The pin company did not expect or intend to produce a pin for toy safety that was horribly unsafe. The jogging expert, I'm sure, never imagined his healthy life would end with a heart attack. No one would guess that these events would happen, so when they do, it is considered ironic.

So I maintain that Alanis's song does not contain irony, cosmic or otherwise.

There are so many kinds of irony, and it would be difficult to describe them all here, so check out wikipedia for sure, as it has a comprehensive list and great examples.

Source(s):

English teacher

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Very informative - and explains well!!

Answer 2

This is cosmic irony, not literary irony. People fail to understand that. Cosmic irony is in mockery of the fitness or rightness of things, while literary irony is when something unexpected happens.

Answer 3

that's why the song is ironic.
because it's titled "ironic", but none of the situations are actually ironic.
which is the whole irony of it all.