Why Does Grice's Use Of Irony
Irony is a form of linguistic ambiguity achieved through textual, grammatical, and textual manipulation. Defined simply, irony is “the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect” (OED Online). Seeing as this is clearly a violation of Quality, one of Grice’s maxims, it can be presumed that in most cases of irony speakers tend to violate one or some of Grice’s four maxims underneath the Cooperative Principle: Quantity, Quality, Manner, and Relation. In doing so, whether intentionally, unconsciously, or unpretentiously, the speaker creates triggers for particular conversational implicatures, which lend themselves to the ironic interpretation of the verbal utterance.
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In calling Bunbury a “dreadful invalid,” he is allowing the interpretation to be misconstrued between two meanings: null and baseless, or weak and disabled. The implicature is that Algernon agrees with his aunt and has nothing more to say on the topic of Bunbury’s health. Of course, this instance of maxim-flouting is deliberate in that Algy prefers to avoid giving too much information on his fabricated friend, which consequentially is a violation of Grice’s maxim of Quality. Algernon’s choice in phrasing then becomes ironic when his usage of “invalid” is interpreted as being …show more content…
As exemplified in the selected dialogic quotes from Oscar Wilde’s comedy of manners, each character frequently flouts Grice’s maxim in order to convey a meaning opposite of what they actually say. In doing so, whether intentionally, unconsciously, or unpretentiously, the speaker creates triggers for particular conversational implicatures, which lend themselves to the ironic interpretation of the verbal utterance. Therefore, the reference to Grice’s Cooperative Principle and its underlying conversational strategies is indispensable in the pragmatic analysis and interpretation or irony in literature, particularly the verbal behavior of characters.
Works Referenced:
Grice, P. H. (1975). Logic and Conversation. In: P. Cole and J. Morgan (eds.). Syntax and Semantics vol. 3: Speech Acts. pp.41~58. New York: Academic Press
"irony, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2017. Web. 12 April 2017.
Jafari, J. (2013). The Pragmatic Analysis of Wilde's Comedy: The Importance of Being Earnest. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(12), 2151-2156. Retrieved from
In calling Bunbury a “dreadful invalid,” he is allowing the interpretation to be misconstrued between two meanings: null and baseless, or weak and disabled. The implicature is that Algernon agrees with his aunt and has nothing more to say on the topic of Bunbury’s health. Of course, this instance of maxim-flouting is deliberate in that Algy prefers to avoid giving too much information on his fabricated friend, which consequentially is a violation of Grice’s maxim of Quality. Algernon’s choice in phrasing then becomes ironic when his usage of “invalid” is interpreted as being …show more content…
As exemplified in the selected dialogic quotes from Oscar Wilde’s comedy of manners, each character frequently flouts Grice’s maxim in order to convey a meaning opposite of what they actually say. In doing so, whether intentionally, unconsciously, or unpretentiously, the speaker creates triggers for particular conversational implicatures, which lend themselves to the ironic interpretation of the verbal utterance. Therefore, the reference to Grice’s Cooperative Principle and its underlying conversational strategies is indispensable in the pragmatic analysis and interpretation or irony in literature, particularly the verbal behavior of characters.
Works Referenced:
Grice, P. H. (1975). Logic and Conversation. In: P. Cole and J. Morgan (eds.). Syntax and Semantics vol. 3: Speech Acts. pp.41~58. New York: Academic Press
"irony, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2017. Web. 12 April 2017.
Jafari, J. (2013). The Pragmatic Analysis of Wilde's Comedy: The Importance of Being Earnest. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(12), 2151-2156. Retrieved from