MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

CAHUL STATE UNIVERSITY “ B. P. HASDEU”

THE FACULTY OF PEDAGOGIC AND HUMANISTIC SCIENCES
LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES DEPARTMENT

POŞTARU CEZARINA

SELF- DEPRECATION & RELIEF IN FEMALE IRONY. CASE

STUDY: BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY

RESEARCH PAPER

CAHUL 2019
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION

I. THEORIES OF HUMOUR AND IRONY

1.1. Superiority Theory vs Self- Deprecation............................................................................ 3
1.2. Relief Theory...................................................................................................................... 5

1.3 Incongruity Theory.............................................................................................................. 7

References............................................................................................................................... 11

II. IRONY- A MEANS OF SELF- DEPRECATION AND RELIEF

2.1. General Consideration of Irony........................................................................................ 12
2.2. Classification of Irony...................................................................................................... 13

2.3. Conclusions...................................................................................................................... 14

References............................................................................................................................... 16

III. CORPUS ANALYSIS. RELIEF AND SELF- DEPRECATION IRONY

IN “ BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY”

3.1. Irony Analysis...................................................................................................................17

3.2. Case Study Results........................................................................................................... 22

References............................................................................................................................... 26
CONCLUSIONS.................................................................................................................... 27

BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................................................................28
 INTRODUCTION

Abstract:

This paper deals with the irony analysis, theories of humour and irony, the irony and
self- deprecation in Bridget Jones’s Diary etc. We will highlight some statements that show
irony in this novel, besides, we’ll comment them. We are going to talk about different types of
irony, what are their purpose, what is the main problem when we talk about irony, the ironic,
what did a person mean through what it is said and so on. The objectives of this paper are to
understand better the irony in Bridget Jones’s Diary, to know how to make the difference
between the types of irony and how to understand them. To sum up, the research paper’s
purpose is to underline the effects of each type and to distinguish them easily.

Irony is a difference between appearance and reality. By irony in the general sense is
meant ridicule, deceit, pretense or reproach. Unlike simple deception, irony appears as a kind of
double exposure, when the statement and its negating expression are expressed explicitly. This
is a major problem of our society and this paper aims to research however different solutions to
this problem. It is a topic that has a wide interest but has not been studied enough and in details.
In this research paper are studied the theories of humour and irony, the types of irony, that will
help people to distinguish the types and their meanings. Also, this research deals with irony
analysis from Bridget Jones’s Diary and where there are listed some advices how to
understand the irony represented there better. The work also gives definitions of humour, irony
etc. The paper consists of an introduction, three chapters, a conclusion and biography. The first
chapter of this research paper is entitled “Theories of humour and irony” and gives more
definitions to humour and irony. It also makes a comparative analysis between humour and
irony. It describes the types of humour and their features. The second chapter is entitled
“Irony- a means of self-deprecation and relief” and offers more details about the classification
of irony, general definitions etc. In this chapter are described some the major types of irony:
verbal irony, situational irony and dramatic irony. The third chapter is entitled “Corpus analysis.
Relief and self- deprecation irony in “ Bridget Jones’s Diary” which involves analyzing the
types of irony in the phrases, the views of the main character and not only in the novel. The key
words used in this research paper are: irony, Bridget Jones’s Diary, self- deprecation, verbal
irony, dramatic irony, situational irony, humour, ironic sense, theories .
The purpose of the research is to define the irony, humour and their features, also to
understand what people mean through what they say. The objectives of the research are:
 determining the types of irony;
 analyzing the types of irony;
 highlighting each purpose of each type;
 developing the knowledge of irony in the novel.
Finally, learning and knowing what is the purpose of irony, how many types of irony
exist, how is irony showed in Bridget Jones’s Diary is an important topic nowadays, because
people often face different situations like Bridget did and sometimes it is good to know how
to act.

2
 CHAPTER 1: THEORIES OF HUMOUR AND IRONY

1.1. Superiority Theory vs Self- Deprecation

Historically, the term ‘humour’ derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks,
which taught that the balance of fluids in the human body, known as humours (Latin: humor,
“body fluid”), controlled human health and emotion. Ana Stefanova wrote:
“ [...] Humour is a term that can be used both in a broad sense and in a narrow sense.
It is applied in the broader sense to all literature and to all informal speech or writing in which
the object is to entertain the reader or listener, or to rouse laughter in it. In its narrower sense
humour is distinguished from wit, satire, and farce. It is less intellectual and more imaginative
than wit, more concerned with character and situation than with interpretations of words or
ideas; more sympathetic and less cruel than satire; more subtle than farce. On the other hand, it
shades into fancy and imagination because, as they are, it is concerned with exploring the
possibilities of unlikely situations or combinations of ideas, but it differs from them in being
concerned only with the laughable aspects of these imagined situations” [1, n.p.].
But what exactly is it about a situation that makes it laughable? Some things make
people laugh; but it’s very difficult to say just what these laughable things have in common.
Humour theories (in the broader sense) are attempts to solve this issue. There are, it is said,
three traditional theories of humour: the superiority theory, the incongruity theory, and the
relief theory [2, n.p.].
There are different things that make people laugh and these theories will explain what
exactly they emphasize and what are their purpose. Below, these theories are described,
explained and investigated not only by people or authors, but by great philosophers as well.
Theory of humor traces back to Plato and Aristotle, and Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan.
They believed that the general idea is that a person laughs about other people’s misfortunes
(so - called schadenfreude), as these misfortunes assert the superiority of the person on the
background of others’ shortcomings. Plato reported Socrates as saying that a display of self -
ignorance characterized the ridiculous. Plato emphasized:
“We laugh at inferior or ugly individuals for Aristotle, because we feel a delight in
feeling superior to them” [3,n.p.].

3
 Thus, Aristotle puts the same meaning into the concept of humor. Both philosophers
refer to the “comic” negatively: it makes people hostages of their own emotions. Aristotle also
adds:
“A joke is a kind of insult, therefore, it is necessary to use it only if it is a question of
really unworthy and low things”.
Secondly, Thomas Hobbes (1588 - 1679), who is probably the originator of the
superiority theory on the darker side of comedy. For Hobbes, superiority theory means
humour arises from a “sudden glory” felt when we recognise our supremacy over others. Plato
and Aristotle are generally considered superiority theorists, who emphasise the aggressive
feelings that fuel humour [4, p.64]
Moreover, Thomas Hobbes, defined laughter as a primitive emotion - a rude reaction
to the misfortune of another. Awareness of their own superiority over the unfortunate,
according to the scientist, arises from the wrong belief that nothing like this can happen to us.
For Sheila Lintott, the superiority theory is concerned with the affective response that
often accompanies comic amusement, which it maintains is an enjoyable feeling of superiority
to the object of amusement. [5, p. 346].
Indeed, many authors, philosophers, people in general perceive this theory differently.
People often express their superiority through jokes or humor, thus misleading the people.
Some of them, being pretty hard to understand what they wanted to convey .
More than that, as many things were mentioned before, according to this theory, a
person laughs when he feels his superiority over certain phenomena, events or people. One of
the first to describe this psychological mechanism was Plato. In the dialogue “Philebus”
Plato's unchanging hero (and teacher) the philosopher Socrates claims that the main character
of all comedy performances is a person who is in difficult circumstances and is unable to
overcome them. Watching his misfortunes, the public experiences two emotions at the same
time- pity and pleasure: she sympathizes with the unlucky hero, but at the same time she
laughs at his weakness. Despite the authority of his followers, the theory of excellence has
been repeatedly criticized. The Scottish philosopher Francis Hutchenson, in his Reflections on
the Nature of Laughter, remarked that the sufferings of a hero in a literary work or theatrical
presentation would make the reader / viewer cry rather than laugh [13, n. p.].
Following this theory, after people understand what it is, there are two states, pleasure
and compassion. Why? Because people's misfortunes are not very nice and good, some are
life lessons, and some are just stories of gas. Before laughing at anyone, people should
actually understand what that person was, was his misfortune a joke? Moreover, although

4
enemy failures make people happy, they are not always comic. That is why discrediting others
or the sense of supremacy over others is neither necessary nor sufficient to stir laughter.
Another important aspect in humour is self- deprecation. There are many definitions of
self- deprecation, but one of them defines ‘self-deprecation’ as a means belittling one’s self:
the act of belittling yourself or your achievements [6, n.p.].
The term ‘self- deprecation’ says that the quality of deliberately making your own
achievements or abilities seem unimportant [7, n.p.].
People are often not satisfied with their achievements, and so they are trying to play their own
minds, to judge or to laugh at themselves.
In general, the term is defined as the act of belittling, undervaluing, or disparaging
oneself, or being excessively modest. It can be used in humor and tension release. Self-
deprecation was recommended by philosophers of Stoicism as a response to insults. Instead of
getting defensive, one should join in by insulting themselves even more. According to the
Stoics, this will remove the sting from the insult. It will also disappoint the interlocutor
because the insulted party failed to be upset, thereby reducing the chance that they will try to
upset the Stoic like that again. Moreover, self-deprecation is often perceived as being a
characteristic of certain nations, such as in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New
Zealand, where “blowing one's own trumpet” is frowned upon. This is played upon by English
comedians such as David Mitchell, Lee Evans and Johnny Vegas. Actors such as Danny Dyer,
Matt Lucas, and Stephen Fry use this humour in their acting roles [8, n.p.].
To sum up, self- deprecation means diminishing yourself, diminishing your personality,
your merits. Usually, this state of self-deprecation occurs when you are not happy with
yourself, your physical condition, and so you start to laugh of yourself. Maybe somehow you
motivate or on the contrary you devalue yourself.

1.2. Relief Theory

Relief Theory is typically associated with Sigmund Freud and Herbert Spencer, who saw
humour as fundamentally a way to release or save energy generated by repression [9, p. 2]
Thus, through this theory, humor and laughter have the potential to release the accumulated
energy of the nerves.
The relief theory was first formulated by the English philosopher, Herbert Spencer. He
considered laughter, above all, as the body’s physiological reaction to nervous tension and
overexcitement. According to his concept, joy and fear are related emotions, only the result

5
of the first is laughter, and the second is trembling. In other words, a person, laughing, is
“released” from the emotional burden. Humour may thus, for example serve to facilitate relief
of the tension caused by one’s fears. In other words, according to relief theory, laughter and
joy are the result of this release of nervous energy. Besides, humor is used primarily to
overcome socio-cultural inhibitions and reveal suppressed desires. It is believed that this is the
reason we laugh whilst being tickled, due to a buildup of tension as the tickler “strikes” [10,
n.p.]. Thus, laughter is, according to Herbert Spencer, an “economic phenomenon” whose
function is to release “psychic energy,” which was wrongly mobilized by false or incorrect
expectations. Sigmund Freud also supported the latter point of view.
Laughter was seen by relief theorists as relieving an accumulation of nervous energy.
Thus, John Dewey proposed a new version of the Relief Theory in the 20th century. One of
the first people as it’s mentioned before was John Dewey, who gave a definition to laughter.
Thus, he said:

“[...] Laughter marks the end of a period of suspense or expectation.” It is a “sudden

relaxation of strain, so far as occurring through the medium of the breathing and vocal apparatus…
The laugh is thus a phenomenon of the same general kind as the sigh of relief” [11,n.p.].

Better known than Shaftesbury, Spencer, and Dewey's versions of Relief Theory is Sigmund
Freud’s version. Freud analyzes three laughter situations in his Jokes and Their Relation to the
Unconscious (1905): der Witz (often translated “jokes” or “joking”), “comic”, and “humour”.
Laughter releases nervous energy in all three, which was summoned for a psychological task,
but then became superfluous as that task was abandoned. In der Witz, that superfluous energy
is energy used to repress feelings; in the comic it is energy used to think, and in humor it is the
energy of feeling emotions (ibid.).
As it’s known, each representative, came up with his own point of view according to
relief theory, and so did Freud. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) came up with his relief theory,
where he stated that all situations that produce laughter are pleasurable because they save
psychic energy. It brings pleasure to the person because it spares spending on feeling, comedy
because it spares spending on ideas and joking because it spares spending of inhibition. This
excess in spare energy is relieved by the act of laughter. Freud also concludes that jokes are
more than they seem. He believes that the humor we enjoy in jokes is closely related to dreams.
Basically, laughter’s relief theory is when one is confronted with a situation that creates
tensions within us. Freud says:

6
 “[...] As we try to cope with two sets of emotions and thoughts, we need a release and
laughter is the way of cleansing our system of the built-up tension and incongruity, and in this
case the laughter will be referred as the relief laughter” [13, n.p.].
Moreover, Freud says:
“The relief theory is also being used in the movies and plays we watch, especially
plots that deals with thriller and adventure”.
It is a technique that is used when the audience experiences high tensions in a movie or play;
the plot will include comic relief at the right times. The tension or suspense is built up as
much as possible and then slightly breaks it down with a side comment, allowing the viewer to
be relieved from what he faces with emotions of high tension. [12, n.p]
To sum up, one more important point of Freud’s theory was formulated as such: “who
has a sense of humour constantly jokes in order to avoid negative emotions, get away from
imperfect reality and thus demonstrate his invulnerability” [13, n.p.]. By the way, many
supporters of the theory of natural selection consider that the development of a person’s sense
of humour is convincing evidence of the evolution of the human psyche.
In a general note, the conclusion of Freud’s observations would follow the definition
of the despiritual word in the form of absolutely subjective and conscious comic, the energy
inhibition, usually obtained through verbal associations, and which we produce from the
subject's point of view. The category includes jokes, presence of spirit, spontaneous comments
or dibasic and twinkling replies. Comic is perceived as a dimension that explores the same
energy release from the angle of thinking and energy investment in the processes of
understanding and representation.

1.3 Incongruity Theory

Criticizing the Superiority Theory, Hatchetson offered it an alternative concept, which later
became known as the theory of incongruity (ibid.). According to the philosopher, we do not
always laugh only from the realization of superiority over the weakness and misfortunes of
another. For example, tricks and funny representations of animals also often cause fun to the
public. Hatchetson explains the nature of laughter differently: he believes that a person laughs
when he becomes a witness of absurd phenomena, observes a discrepancy between the
canonical image and the real fact. Thus, the philosopher interprets the situation in a
completely different way when the public laughs at the misfortune of a worthy hero: he looks
ridiculous precisely because the particular comic situation does not correspond to his high

7
position, power or wealth. Proof of the theory of inconsistency can be a curious study of the
modern British psychologist Richard Wiseman [13, n.p.]. The scientist analyzed ten thousand
jokes and anecdotes and identified four main comic archetypal situations:
a) the hero wants to look smarter, but all his attempts fail;

b) husband and wife do not love each other;

c) the doctor is indifferent to the death of the patient.

As it’s seen, each of these situations is based on a mismatch of expectations and actions.The
incongruity theory was also supported by the two largest representatives of German classical
philosophy - Immanuel Kant and Arthur Schopenhauer (ibid.). Schopenhauer’s own claim for
his theory is bold; he describes it as 'the true theory of the ludicrous'. Indeed, the notion of
humour as being dependent upon incongruity has been very influential in humour theory, and
the term crops up regularly in contemporary discussions of the subject. But an important
challenge facing any incongruity theorist .,is the necessity of defining more clearly what is
meant by ‘incongruity’; and many researchers who use the term fail to do so. The Oxford
English Dictionary gives such definitions as: ‘disagreement in character or qualities; want of
accordance or harmony; discrepancy, inconsistency ... want of accordance with what is
reasonable or fitting; unsuitableness, inappropriateness, absurdity... want of harmony of parts
or elements; want of self-consistency; incoherence’ [16, p.3]. On the other hand, Kant says:
“A joke amuses us by evoking, shifting, and dissipating our thoughts, but we do not
learn anything through these mental gymnastics”.
In humor generally, according to Kant, our reason finds nothing of worth. The jostling of ideas,
however, produces a physical jostling of our internal organs and we enjoy that physical
stimulation.
Hence, the second account of humor that arose in the 18th century to challenge the
Superiority Theory was the Incongruity Theory. While the Superiority Theory says that the
cause of laughter is feelings of superiority, and the Relief Theory says that it is the release of
nervous energy, the Incongruity Theory says that it is the perception of something
incongruous- something that violates our mental patterns and expectations. This approach was
taken by James Beattie, Immanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer, Søren Kierkegaard, and many
later philosophers and psychologists. It is now the dominant theory of humor in philosophy
and psychology. James Beattie (1779) was the first philosopher to use the word incongruous
for humor analysis. He mentioned:

8
 “[...] When we see something funny, our laughter always proceeds from a sentiment or
emotion, excited in the mind, in consequence of certain objects or ideas being presented to it.
Our laughter seems to arise from the view of things incongruous united in the same assemblage.
The cause of humorous laughter is two or more inconsistent, unsuitable, or incongruous parts
or circumstances, considered as united in one complex object or assemblage, as acquiring a sort
of mutual relation from the peculiar manner in which the mind takes notice of them” [14, n. p.].
Another supporter of Incongruity Theory is Immanuel Kant, a contemporary of Beattie’s, but
he did not used the term incongruous; he had an explanation of laughter in jokes and wit that
involves incongruity. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), identified incongruity with “frustrated
expectation”, and claimed that humor arises “from the sudden transformation of a strained
expectation into nothing” (ibid.). More is implied here than merely surprise: the suggestion is
that humor consists in the violent dissolution of an emotional attitude. This happens when a
joke is said, and it hardly comes to our minds. As a result, having a capricious lively laugh in
which there must be something absurd. Therefore, understanding does not give us any
satisfaction. So, laughter is a condition that results from the sudden transformation of a tense
expectation into nothing.A version of the Incongruity Theory that gave it more philosophical
significance than Kant’s version is that of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788- 1860). While Kant
located the lack of fit in humor between our expectations and our experience, Schopenhauer
locates it between our sense perceptions of things and our abstract rational knowledge of those
same things[14, n. p.].

In conclusion, the theory of incongruity rather suggests an effect of perceiving

something incongruent. For example, something that goes against our values or our mental
schemes. This state of mind then generated explanations of “laughing nerves” that appear in
situations that seem unexpected, awkward, absurd or even annoying, but which appear in a
context in which we can not clearly express these feelings. By humour and laughter people
manifest the incongruity or discomfort caused by the situation. Another example is political
humour. Again, in the face of the incongruity of the attitudes, ideas, or public behavior of
people in political representation, it is common to respond by humour, sarcasm, irony, ridicule,
caricature. In this way, humour has an important political value: it allows us to express our
disagreement in a socially meaningful way and easily divided and distributed among different
people.

9
 1. 4. Conclusions
Many writers on humour have refused to accept the view that humorous incongruity consists
in degrading something exalted by bringing it into contact with something trivial or
disreputable. They not only hold that incongruity is quite distinct from degradation, but also
insist that incongruity, and not degradation, is the central feature of all humor.
To sum up, each of these theories of humor is able to explain some types of humor, but
it may be doubted if any of them can satisfactorily explain every type of humor. Superiority
theories account very well for our laughter at small misfortunes and for the appeal of satire,
but are less happy in dealing with word play, incongruity, nonsense, and indecency.
Incongruity theories, on the other hand, are strong where superiority theories are weak, and
weak where they are strongest. So, among the most representative theories of humor, both in
philosophy, in psychology and even in physiology, is relief theory of the theory of well-being
or healing. It is generally suggested that humour has effects on the nervous system and allows
the discharge of different levels of tension. Put another way, humor and laughter have the
potential to release the accumulated nerve energy. Thus, relief theories admirably account for
laughing at indecency, malice, and nonsense, but they are forced to admit that there is an
intrinsic appeal in incongruity and word play that is quite independent of restraint relief. As
for the theory of superiority, it must be mentioned that to laugh at something or someone first
people have to establish a comparison with someone. Then look for humor which is a sign of
inferiority to the other person or situations. Then when laughter is triggered to reaffirm this
inferiority and, therefore, superiority to someone. An example of this would be aggression or
verbal aggression, based on contempt for the other person. In other words, humour would
have psychological components related to self-defense, self-competence, judgments, self-
esteem, self-centering, etc.
In conclusion, all these theories of humor, show us different stages of laughter, comic,
irony, etc. So, these humor theories help to explain what socially, culturally and
psychologically elicits humor. Therefore, the goal of finding a precise scientific formula for
funny remains elusive.

10
 References:

1. Monro, D. H. , 1988, Theories of Humor, Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen,

eds. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and Company
2. ‘Laugh’ [online] https://www.coursehero.com/file/p5ml216a/But-what-exactly-is-it-
about-a-situation-that-makes-it-laughable-We-all-know/ (19.01.19)
3. ‘Superiority theory’ [online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_humor
(27.01.19)
4. Ana Stefanova, Humour Theories and the Archetype of the Trickster in Folklore, pag.
64
5. Sheila Lintott, Fall 2016, Superiority in Humor Theory, p. 346, The American
Society for Aesthetics
6. ‘Self- deprecation’ [online] https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=self-
deprecation (19.01.19)
7. ‘Definition of self- deprecation’ [online]
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/self-
deprecation?q=self-+deprecation (19.01.19)
8. ‘Self- hatred’ [online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-hatred#Self-deprecation
(19.01.19)
9. Ana Stefanova, Humour Theories and the Archetype of the Trickster in Folklore, pag.
2
10. ‘Relief Theory’ [online]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_humor#Relief_theory
11. ‘Humour’[online] https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humor/#SupThe
12. ‘Laughter’ [online] https://projects.eightron.net/laughter/theory3.php
13. ‘Три теории юмора’[online] http://www.cinemotionlab.com/stati/tri_teorii_yumora/
14. ‘Incongruity theory’[online] https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humor/#IncThe
15. John Lippitt, Humour and incongruity, p.3

11
 CHAPTER 2: IRONY- A MEANS OF SELF- DEPRECATION AND RELIEF

2.1. General Consideration of Irony

Irony is a hidden mockery, an expression where the true meaning is hidden or contrary to the
explicit meaning. When a fool is called a sage, and a coward with mockery is called a hero -
this is irony. An example of irony: “Well, thank you, you made me happy!”, usually this is the
response of someone who involuntarily had been hurted. Thus, there are various definitions of
irony and some of them are listed below. The term ‘irony’ was introduced by Linda Hutcheon
in her book in 1994, where she said:
“Irony is the intentional transmission of both information and evaluative attitude other
than what is explicitly presented” [1, p.8].
For Jennifer Thompson, irony is is inherently confusing. Not only are its definitions
confusing; it is confusing by definition [2,n.p.].
Another definition of irony was given by D. C. Muecke (1982), he said:
“[...] The word “irony” does not now mean only what it meant in earlier centuries, it
does not mean in one country all it may mean in another, nor in the street what it may mean in the
study, nor to one scholar what it may mean to another” [3, p. 14]
Further, according to a definition provided by Everett, irony is really only hypocrisy
with style [4, n.p.].
Besides irony is defined in Singh’s work as the use of words to convey a meaning
contrary to its literal meaning. It is a technique of indicating an intention or attitude contrary
to what is actually or ostensibly stated, as through character or plot development. He affirms
that:
“[...] Irony is a manner of organizing a work so as to give full expression to
contradictory or complementary impulses, attitudes, etc., especially as a means of indicating
detachment from a subject, theme, or emotion” [5, p.65].
To sum up, irony is, in the broadest sense, a witty remark based on the opposition of concepts.
The word “irony” means “pretense” translated from Greek. Hence, “to ironicize” means to
mock someone using contradictory concepts. For example, if someone cannot find the capital
of France on the map, they can ironically call him the “Master of Geography”. Or, if a person
falls into a puddle, they will ironically call him a “trickster” [6, n.p.].
In conclusion, irony is just a difference between appearance and reality. It can create

suspense and humour. For example in different stories, people laugh at unusual situations or

12
they can wonder that will happen next. In a simpler way to say, irony is about expectations,
thus irony is the opposite of what is expected. Moreover, irony is a figure of speech that
portrays the contrary of the truth about something through the careful play of words and wit.

2.2. Classification of Irony

There are many different types of irony. What follows is a description and example
of each form. So, the major 3 types of irony are:
 verbal irony
 dramatic irony
 situational irony

Historically, the term ‘verbal irony’ came into use thousands of years ago, in Ancient
Greece. Thus, verbal irony occurs when someone’s literal meaning is different from and often
contrary to what they actually mean. When a hurricane rages outside and someone comments
“what a lovely weather we have,” this is an example of verbal irony. Below there are listed
some keys of verbal irony:
 Sometimes the ironic speaker’s intended meaning is clear to the listener, and sometimes it
isn’t. Verbal irony typically depends on context, as well as the speaker’s tone and the
listener's attentiveness or prior experience.
 In a literary work, however, the audience generally has enough information to understand
when a character is using verbal irony.
 Verbal irony can never be accidental. It depends on the speaker’s intent. If the speaker

doesn’t mean to be irony, then they aren’t using verbal irony [7, n.p.].

Moreover, in everyday speech, plays, novels and poetry, verbal irony is very common and
usually occurs in the form of sarcasm. To achieve its effect, it depends on the timing and
appropriate circumstances. Verbal irony develops funny and dramatic situations as well. So by
verbal irony, writers and poets can indirectly, in a less bitter and more effective way, convey
their bitter messages. By prompting readers to analyze and think harder about a situation, it
makes a literary piece more effective. Hence, by contrasting and comparing suppositions with
reality, the readers can better understand the writer’s intent or worse, it can be more confusing
[8, n.p.].

13
 The second type of irony, the dramatic one is an important stylistic device commonly
found in plays, films, theaters and sometimes even in poetry. Storytellers use this irony as a
useful plot device to create situations where the audience is more familiar with situations,
causes of conflicts, and their resolutions before the leading characters or actors.That’s why
readers note that actors’ speech is unusual. For example, the audience knows that a character
will be assassinated or will make a suicide decision; however, one or other character may not
be aware of these facts. The characters’ words and actions would therefore suggest to the
audience a different meaning from what they indicate to the characters and the story. Thus, it
creates intense suspense and humour. This device of speech also emphasizes, embellishes, and
more effectively conveys emotions and moods [9, n.p.].

The third type of irony is the situational irony. Situational irony occurs when the
results of a situation are far different from what was expected. This results in a feeling of
surprise and unfairness due to the odd situation [10, n.p.]. Besides, situational irony is a
literary device that you can easily identify in literary works. Simply, it occurs when
incongruity appears between expectations of something to happen, and what actually happens
instead. Thus, situational irony’s function is to emphasize important scenes and make vivid
strange and unusual images. At the end of a story, it creates an unexpected turn, making the
audience laugh or cry. Therefore, it might be tragic or funny situational irony [11, n.p.].

2.3. Conclusions

In conclusion, verbal irony, this is when a character says one thing but means the complete
opposite. For example: Awesome! Another homework packet! Further, dramatic irony is when
the reader understands more about the events of a story than a character or the character
understands the events would be one way and the readers know them to be the complete
opposite. For example: Everyone thinks Tom is the smartest pupil in school, but we know he
cheated at the exam. Regarding, situational irony is generally what people are referring to
when they just say ‘irony’ or that something is ironic and it is when what actually happens or
is the complete opposite of what is expected.

To sum up, something that is ironic is unexpected. Firstly, if it’s unexpected by a

character, then it is considered dramatic irony. Secondly, if everyone is surprised by the
outcome, the event no one expected what occurred , then it’s exact opposite of what people

14
did expect, hence, people call this irony- situational. Lastly, if someone is being sarcastic, if

they say one thing but they meant the opposite then that is called verbal irony.

15
References:
1. Linda Hutcheon, Irony’s Edge: The Theory and Politics of Irony (1994), p.8
2. Jennifer Thompson, “Irony: A Few Simple Definitions,” Teachers’ Resource Web
available from
http://www.ajdrake.com/teachers/teaching/guides/theory/z_irony_def_thompson.htm
(01.05.2019)
3. D. C. Muecke,1982, Irony and the Ironic , p.14
4. Barbara Everett, Looking for Richard (1996), n.p.
5. Raj Kishor Singh, Humour, irony and satire in literature, p.65
6. ‘Irony’ [online] https://chto-eto-takoe.ru/irony (01.05.2019)
7. ‘Verbal irony’ [online] https://www.litcharts.com/literary-devices-and-terms/verbal-
irony (01.05.2019)
8. ‘Functions of Verbal Irony’ [online] https://literarydevices.net/verbal-irony/
(01.05.2019)
9. ‘Dramatic irony’ [online] https://literarydevices.net/dramatic-irony/ (06.05.2019)
10. ‘Situational irony’ [online] https://ed.ted.com/lessons/situational-irony-the-opposite-
of-what-you-think-christopher-warner (12.05.2019)
11. ‘Function of situational irony’ [online] https://literarydevices.net/situational-irony/
(12.05.2019)

16
 CHAPTER 3: CORPUS ANALYSIS. RELIEF AND SELF- DEPRECATION IRONY
IN “ BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY”

3.1. Irony Analysis

According to different authors, irony is 1) a subtle mockery, expressed in a hidden form [1, p.
815]; 2) tropes consisting in the use of a word or expression in the opposite sense, literally for
the purpose of ridicule [2, p. 155]; 3) one of the ways of the author’s assessment of the image
depicted, in which the author’s mockery of what he writes about [3, p. 346].
Below, there are some sentences of “Bridget Jones’s Diary” , that will show the verbal
irony itself:
“The thing is, Suki and I…’ ‘Suki? Pukey, more like…” [4. p.185]
Well, at the lexical level, irony is realized either by phrases, or a separate word. The most
common and simplest way to implement irony is to use words in the opposite sense with the
aim of mocking:
“Mark had thoughtfully put me between Geoffrey Alconbury and the gay
vicar ”[ibid, p. 231].
The word thoughtfully carries with it positive semantics, synonyms can be considerately,
kindly. However, in our context, she acquires the opposite meaning, given that Bridget was in
a desperate search for her second half, and at the feast she was put between her uncle
(“…perverts with the word ‘Uncle’ before their name”) and a gay priest. Further, the ironic
meaning can also be expressed by a free phrase. In this case, we must take into account the
“quality” of the vocabulary, namely the expressiveness of its units, the style to which it
belongs, compatibility with other lexical units.
“Mum, with dazzling bravado, has planned schmaltzy family Christmas…” [ibid ,p.
235].
In this example, the irony of us is indicated by the specificity of the language tools chosen by
the writer to tell about the attempts of Pam, Bridget's mother, to raise the family for Christmas,
as if before that she had never had her love affair with Julio. Writer puts in an ironic light
Pam's desire to create true happiness in the family in a short time after such events. Besides the
fact that Pam left the family for a whole year for the sake of Julio, she borrowed large sums of
money from her acquaintances and hid with them in Portugal. She is wanted by the police, and
at this time all hope is placed on her abandoned husband:
“ [...] Is that too milky for you, Colin?’ said Una, passing Dad a mug of tea decorated with

apricot floral frieze. ‘I don’t know… I don’t know why… I don’t know what to think,’

17
 Dad said worriedly. ‘Look, there’s absolutely no need to worry,’ said Una, with an unusual air
of calmness and control, which suddenly made me see her as the mummy I’d never really had. ‘It’s
because I’ve put a bit too much milk in. I’ll just tip a bit out and top it up with hot water” [ibid, p. 282].
In this example, two meanings of the word milky are played around: 1) containing milk; 2)
spiritless, spineless. The ironic effect is enhanced by the “collision” of such high feelings as
love and appreciation with stupidity and inattention.
The irony can also be represented by the author's new growths, expressing the attitude of the
speaker to the interlocutor or the phenomenon:
“How are the ear-hair clippers? - Oh, marvelously - you know - clippy ” [ibid., p.
12].
This situation is comical in itself - Bridget Jones gives her father a Christmas hair clipper in
his ears for Christmas. The word “marvelously” means the highest praise of something,
whereas the word “clippy” is not in the dictionary, but it can be understood directly as the
very function of this machine, which can not be so beautiful. Thus, in her book, Sofia
Pohodnja mentioned:
“ [...] Irony can be expressed with exclamation sentences. This includes those sentences “which
are graphically not indicated by an exclamation mark, but either an pronoun or an intonation indicates
their exclamation” [ 5, p.34].
As a result, another ironic statement from the novel is:
“She was wearing a crocheted mini-dress with a floppy straw hat and an orange Bri- nylon
saddle-stitched blouse on the top. As if the things I used to wear in my teens were a hilarious joke” [ibid,
p. 214].
Bridget is amazed at the inappropriateness of the caller and tasteless outfit of her colleague in
the office. The self-irony, realized by the exclamation sentence, expresses condemnation and
discontent of Miss Jones.Further, another example is when Bridget finds in a cafe Jeremy, the
husband of her friend Magda, with an unfamiliar girlfriend. The irony is the best way to
convey the whole game of actions and expressions that Bridget and the unfaithful husband
resort to in order to get out of such a delicate situation:
“[...] I altered my path to pass his table, at which he immersed himself deep in conversation with
the trollop, glancing up as I walked past and giving me a firm, confident smile as if to say ‘business
meeting’. I gave him a look which said, ‘Don’t you business meeting me,’ and strutted on” [4, p. 95].

18
 One more important aspect in irony represented in novels is that it can also be expressed with
the help of the author’s comment in brackets. The joint meaning of the main and introductory
sentences helps to understand the true picture of the situation and the author’s attitude to it.
Below there is an example that affirms it:
1 2
“[...] Mum, with dazzling bravado , has planned schmaltzy family Christmas with
her and Dad pretending the whole of last year never happened ‘for the sake of the children’ (i.e. me
and Jamie, who is thirty-seven)” [ibid., p. 295].
In this sentence, quoting someone else’s speech allows the author to distance himself
from the position of the speaker, to focus on the absurdity of the statement. The latter relates
directly to textual irony, which will be discussed further. This combination of several ways to
implement irony in a small context is one of the features of the author’s style of the writer.
From my point of view, possibly this is the secret of the book’s popularity.
Irony can be expressed through comparative constructions as well:
“ [...] She was so tall and thin she hadn’t felt the need to put the heels on, so could walk easily
across the lawn without sinking, as if designed for it, like a camel in the desert” [ibid., p. 172].
In this case, such a comical and unusual comparison (grace cannot be compared with a camel)
tells readers about Bridget's envy of magnificent Natasha, who has a model appearance,
excellent education and good condition. The reader expects that the comparison is a
compliment, but in fact it is not. Therefore, we need to be critical of the events described,
because the irony does not always lie on the surface. Moreover, besides verbal, associative
irony, in this novel we have situational irony as well, we can observe within the sentence or
paragraph, it is expressive and bright:
“ [...] ‘Does that mean if I talked to you really persuasively you’d leave Dad and start an affair
with Auntie Audrey?’ ‘Now you’re just being silly, darling,’ she said. ‘Exactly,’ Dad joined in. ‘Auntie
Audrey looks like a kettle’” [ ibid., p. 38]
The ironic effect is achieved as a result of the speaker’s agreement with the previous statement,
but his reasons are directly opposite to the position of the other interlocutor. Associative irony
is less noticeable than situational, however it has a big impact on the reader. It permeates the
entire work and touches on its main problems. Further, Bridget Jones tried for eighteen years to
lose weight to fit in trendy jeans, and she finally did it; moreover, she

1
amazingly impressive; suggestive of the flashing of lightning

2
a swaggering show of courage

19
 was able to quit smoking and quit alcohol. When Bridget came to the party “feeling v.
full (very full) of myself ”, contrary to what she expected, she hears from her friends:
“Maybe you’ve lost it a bit quickly off your...face”, “Just a bit…drawn”, “ You just seemed,
3
well, flat tonight”,” I think you looked better before, hon ” [ibid., p. 106–107].
The ironic effect is enhanced when Bridget describes all her frustration and hardship using
anaphora:
“Eighteen years – wasted. Eighteen years of calorie and fat-unit-based arithmetic. Eighteen
years of buying long shirts and jumpers and leaving the room backwards in intimate situations to hide
my bottom. … Eighteen years of struggle, sacrifice and endeavour – for what? Eighteen years and the
result is ‘tired and flat’ ” [ibid., 107].
Having considered this case of textual irony, the question naturally becomes whether irony is
always a kind of comic. Although the researchers mostly adhered to this point of view at the
initial stage of the study of irony, this characteristic is also found in some dictionaries today.
However, the problems that the author or the speaker himself reveals to us do not always
deserve a smile, they require a thoughtful and reasonable reader. Most often, the discrepancy
between the expected and the real is tragic, as we see in this example; in this case, it will
already be called the irony of fate [6, p. 10].
Next we can see that in the course of the development of the novel, Bridget Jones more than
once finds a role model for himself. However, here, Helen Fielding does not miss the
opportunity to play a trick on her heroine, and this is what happens:
“Wish to be like Kathleen Tynan (though not, obviously, dead) [4, p. 89].
And another example that affirms what it was mentioned before:
“Wish to be like Tina Brown, though not, obviously, quite so hardworking” [ibid., p.
96].
After analyzing the novel “Bridget Jones's Diary”, we can notice that Helen Fielding
mainly resorts to textual irony, while the writer chooses quite serious problems in the life of
any woman like loneliness, appearance etc. During the reading, it is felt that it describes
completely real situations, so we, the readers, become the main “target” of irony. The irony
expresses mainly the author’s (and not the speaker’s) attitude to what is happening. And
mostly in the work, irony appears as a tragic form, because a bitter smile arises only from the
author and the reader himself, but not from the heroine, who does not always succeed in
resolving the internal contradictions between how best to act in this or that situation and with
those or other feelings and emotions that capture it. Thus, the selection of the function of

3
abbreviation of honey

20
 contradiction in the formation of an ironic sense is created thanks to the part of the tragic that
it has. One of the main problems raised in the novel is the problem of loneliness, and the
author resorts to an ironic method in its disclosure.
Besides, an interesting “form” of irony is self-deprecation, which helps the heroine to
treat all the difficult moments of her life with humor. For example, Bridget Jones comes to a
masquerade party. However, the theme of the party is canceled without warning her about it,
4
and Bridget appears in a specific attire bunny among decently dressed guests. The
protagonist, ironically above herself, shows the most positive reaction in this situations:
“ At this rate I’m going to end up as a call girl,’ I muttered, trying to unpin the bunny tail from
my bottom” [4, p. 169]
It was much more unpleasant for her to see Mark Darcy, whom she liked with his
spectacular girl:
“[...] The smug witch smirked at Mark and blatantly looked me up and down in a most impolite
manner. ‘ Have you come from another party?’ she breathed. ‘Actually, I’m just on my way to work,’ I
said, at which Mark Darcy half smiled and looked away” [ibid., p. 169- 170].
So, we see that self-deprecation helps to ‘save’ the speaker in an awkward position. The
situation reaches its climax comedy when girls meet again at the ruby wedding of Mark’s
parents:
“[...]Just then Natasha appeared in the doorway, ‘Oh, hi,’ she said, seeing me. ‘Not in your
bunny girl outfit today, then,’ and then gave a little laugh to disguise her bitchy comment as an amusing
joke. ‘Actually we bunnies wear these in the winter for warmth,’ I
said” [ibid., p. 232].
Even in the times of Socrates, “the master of irony was able to defend the truth” from
the “opposite”. In the dialogue Symposium, Plato describes how Socrates pretended to be like-
minded of his opponent, and, assenting to him, developed his views to the point of
absurdity”[7, n.p.].
Thus, Fielding used a similar way to create an ironic sense in his work:
“ [...] Valentine’s Day purely commercial, cynical enterprise, anyway. Matter of supreme
indifference to me”. “Wonder if the post has come yet. Maybe there will be a card from Daniel. Or a
secret admirer…Quite excited, actually” [4, p. 49]
To sum up, in the study I tried to consider irony from different perspectives. Gradually

moving away from the opinion that irony is not only a statement with the opposite

4
Clothes, especially fine or formal ones

21
literal meaning, I looked at its manifestations on the lexical, syntactic and text levels. Each
next level of realization of irony consists of the mechanisms of its expression on the previous.
From my point of view, creating an ironic meaning begins directly with the author’s intention
and the choice of language means for its implementation. The irony helps to express the
special attitude of the speaker to the reality surrounding him, to the interlocutor, to the content
of the statement, etc. Moreover, during the study, I was convinced that irony can be viewed not
only as a comic, but also as a tragic beginning: representation of irony as delusion,
contradiction, hope, as the very irony of fate. Bridget Jones is well aware of her shortcomings
and weaknesses, however, her attitude to this is purely contemplative, it only becomes a
subject for self-deprecation. Also, in my opinion, self-deprecation helps to relieve the tension
of internal contradictions, awkward social situations.
In conclusion, I’d like to say that if a reader wants to decode the irony from

the novel, he/she must:

 be familiar with the text and its understanding, since not all the irony “lies on the
surface”, that is, the reader must be able to notice the unsaid;
 have a background knowledge, because the object of irony can be chosen general, going
beyond the specific work, theme or situation;
 understand the difference between good and evil. This apparently abstract requirement is
almost the lead for adequate perception of irony. Without classifying the mocked
phenomenon as negative, the irony itself disappears.
Lastly, these are only some statements from the novel, that highlight the irony and it’s
purpose, meaning itself or what the author wanted to show through the ironic context.
Moreover, these phrases in Bridget Jones’s Diary can help people understand irony better,
however, it seems really hard to understand some of them, that’s why the reader should take a
look in the dictionary for the term “irony”, because in this novel, irony isn’t really comic.

3.2. Case Study Results

Bridget is represented in different hypostases in this novel, having different interests, or being

somewhat forced to these “interests.” The chart below will demonstrate this:

22
 In the beginning of the book
Bridget has a crush on her
boss, Daniel Cleaver. Their
professional relationship
changes into something more
personal through flirtatious
instant computer messages
and after some time he asks
her out on a date. After the
date things start to progress
and he tells her “is just a bit of
fun” and that he think that
they should not get involved she gets angry and walks away from the intimate moment they
where having telling him that: “That is just such crap… How dare you be so fraudulently flirtatious,
cowardly and dysfunctional? I am not interested in emotional fuckwittage. Goodbye” [ 4, p. 33].
Then, at a publishing party Bridget meets Mark Darcy again (before, she met him at the party).
In a middle of a conversation where they are discussing fine literature and television, Bridget
is rather upset.
[…] sulkily grabbing a handful of passing sate sticks and shoving them into my mouth. As I
looked up I saw a dark-haired man in s suit straight in front of me. ‘Hello, Bridget’ he said. I nearly
opened my moth and let all the sate sticks fall straight out. It was Mark Darcy. But without the Frank
Bough-style diamondpatterned sweater. ‘Hello,’ I said through my mouthful, trying not to panic.” [4,
p.100].
Here Bridget finally meets Mark Darcy again and she is not able to present herself as a
sophisticated and elegant because she has her mouth full. This is not important here in the
story but becomes important when we find out that Mark Darcy likes her as she is and not for
what she presents herself to be. Moments like these prevent Bridget to pretend with Mark
Darcy like she did with Daniel.
Besides, the outside pressure on Bridget to get a boyfriend, marry and have children is
evident in the book. When she attends a family gathering or is asked to dinner by friends that
are married she always feels anxious and uneasy because of the questions she knows that she
will face. Below there will be represented some statements:
Bridget’s mother said:

23
 “[…] if you’d had something a bit more bright and cheerful on at the turkey curry buffet Mark
Darcy might have shown a bit more interest. Nobody wants a girlfriend who wanders round looking
like someone form Auschwitz, darling” [4, p.131].
Then, one of her friends mentioned:
“ How does a woman manage to get to your age without being married?” [4,
p. 11]
Despite her anger and frustration she never actually expresses these feelings to anyone
except her friend that find themselves in a similar situation. Everybody is trying to help
her to find the right men, to settle down and start a family with according to the
expectation of the heteronorm. [8, p. 33]
Thus, the ‘ideal’ woman according to Bridget is someone that is thin, well groomed,
has a career and a boyfriend (if not a husband). Bridget wants to be the ‘ideal’ women and she
puts in a lot of effort in to taming her appearances and personality to become more like ‘her’.
She waxes her legs, shaves her armpits, plucks her eyebrows, cleans her skin and moisturises,
files her nails and feet, does cellulite massage and stomach exercises. She is on a constant diet
to become thinner and wants to find a “job with potential” [4, p.3] as well as read books and
newspapers to improve her intellect.
Moreover, it’s noteworthy that the reason Fielding makes Bridget be on a diet is
because all women are expected to so she is as well. All women are supposed to be striving
for the perfect body of a supermodel and Bridget is no different. She knows how many
calories are in everything she eats and she counts them almost every day. She uses a lot of
time calculating the nutritional value of the things she eats and she knows by hart how many
calories are in everything she eats. Is it known that Fielding is also critical towards the
existing female gender. The way she makes Bridget perform her femininity in an undignified
way destabilises our ideas of grooming as natural and beauty as effortless. Bridget constant
dieting is also used to destabilise the existing ideas through the irony of situation and the
laughter it provokes ridiculing the modern western woman’s chase for the perfect body.
Besides all these “interests”, Fielding used all three types of irony in her work. Below there
is a chart that represents what is the most used type of irony in the novel.
After analysing the ironic statements in Bridget Jones’s Diary, people can find about
47 % of verbal irony, 34 % of situational irony and only 19 % of dramatic one.
Below there is a chart that demonstrates it, now, people would be sure that Fielding

uses a lot of irony in her work.

24
After this case study, people can be convinced that Fielding indeed uses irony, she mixed all
the theories of humour, but she was in particular focused on self-deprecation. Bridget has
many moments when she turns to self-deprecation, somehow a kind of relief. Besides this, the
theory of superiority is rather degraded by the other characters who are already married.
In conclusion, Fielding wrote a rather profound, rather hard-to-understand novel,
combining all the theories of humour and irony. Perhaps this work should be considered a
masterpiece in the world of irony.

25
References:

1. S.I. Ozhegov, 1984, Словарь русского языка . Русский язык, p. 815

2. Д. Э. Розенталь,2003, Справочник по русскому языку, p. 155
3. Олма-Пресс, 2004, Большая литературная энциклопедия для школьников и
студентов, p. 346
4. Helen Fielding, 1996, Bridget Jones's Diary
5. Sofia Pohodnja (Походня), 1989, Языковые виды и средства реализации иронии,
p. 34
6. Михаил Орлов, 2005, Текстообразующая ирония в русской и английской прозе,
p.10
7. Е. Ю. Третьякова,2001, Ирония в структуре художественного текста [online]
http://www.relga.ru/Environ/WebObjects/tgu-
www.woa/wa/Main?textid=443&level1= main&level2=articles (10.05.2019)
8. Maria Nilson, 2004, Bridget Jones’s Diary and the subversion of the romance, p.33

26
 CONCLUSIONS

Irony is a satirical device in which the true meaning is hidden or contradicts (contrasted)
with the obvious meaning. As a result, irony should create the feeling that the subject matter is
not what it seems. Moreover, the irony can be expressed in writing, but then the words are
quoted. It is considered that irony is without doubt, just as humour and its politeness, more a
form of discourtesy of despair, a lever designed to lift the destiny of people. It can be stated
that there are three major types of irony: verbal, situational and dramatic.
Besides, the research paper did not consider all types of irony in their diversity, but it
did not have such a goal. After all, everyone will find in a different subject for ridicule, and it
can never get a complete picture. This is the main feature of irony - it is strictly personal,
depends on national identity, social status, level of education, life experience and so on.
However, irony is presented in all linguistic levels, which indicates its significant influence on
the work in general, its lexical and syntactic structure, on the ways building a storyline. In this
regard, a wide horizon is opened for further exploration of irony and self-deprecation.
Last but not least, the research paper deals with the irony analysis in Bridget Jones’s
Diary, and there are many statements from the novel that will help readers to understand irony
better. Moreover, there are highlighted the most known types of irony that gives us an
understanding, more in-depth knowledge of these types of irony. Thus, irony seems a
formidable weapon, but also able to hurt the one who employs it. It pierces important gaps in
the opposing argument, but it is to the detriment of the one who uses it. It often reveals more
despair than opportunities for action. If people want irony to remain an effective weapon in
the humanistic struggle, it is advisable to use it with great caution and not to give in to the
despair it seems to suppose. The importance of the case study is huge, it consists of many
examples of ironic statements, which are indeed well- structured, easy to understand and
deeply analized.
Hence, it is perhaps less a mode of argumentation than a form of personal expression.
Isn’t irony, before being a weapon, a way of quietly affirming and laughing at a tragic
relationship with the world?
In conclusion, the goal of the research has been achieved. People will distinguish the
types of irony and the theories of humour and irony. Thus, the novel will help others
interested in this subject to perceive easily irony. Moreover, the purpose of this paper is to
continue researching irony in the film series Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Bridget Jones: The
Edge of Reason (2004) and Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016).

27
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Ana Stefanova, Humour Theories and the Archetype of the Trickster in Folklore, p.64
2. Ana Stefanova, Humour Theories and the Archetype of the Trickster in Folklore, p.2
3. Barbara Everett, 1996, Looking for Richard , n.p.

4. D. C. Muecke,1982, Irony and the Ironic , p.14

5. Definition of self- deprecation available [online]

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/self-
deprecation?q=self-+deprecation (19.01.19)
6. Dramatic irony available [online] https://literarydevices.net/dramatic-irony/ (06.05.2019)

7. Function of situational irony available [online]

https://literarydevices.net/situational-irony/ (12.05.2019)
8. Functions of Verbal Irony available [online]
https://literarydevices.net/verbal-irony/ (01.05.2019)

9. Helen Fielding, 1996, Bridget Jones's Diary, Pan MacMillan Publishers Ltd, p. 310
10. Humour available [online] https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humor/#SupThe

11. Incongruity theory available [online] https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humor/#IncThe

12. Irony available [online] https://chto-eto-takoe.ru/irony (01.05.2019)

13. Jennifer Thompson, Irony: A Few Simple Definitions, Teachers’ Resource Web
available from
http://www.ajdrake.com/teachers/teaching/guides/theory/z_irony_def_thompson.htm
(01.05.2019)
14. John Lippitt, Humour and incongruity, p.3

15. Laugh available [online] https://www.coursehero.com/file/p5ml216a/But-what-

exactly-is-it- about-a-situation-that-makes-it-laughable-We-all-know/ (19.01.19)
16. Laughter available [online] https://projects.eightron.net/laughter/theory3.php (25.01.19)

17. Linda Hutcheon, 1994, Irony’s Edge: The Theory and Politics of Irony, p.8

18. Maria Nilson, 2004, Bridget Jones’s Diary and the subversion of the romance p.33

19. Monro, D. H. , 1988, Theories of Humor, Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen,
eds. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and Company, n.p.
20. Raj Kishor Singh, Humour, irony and satire in literature, p.65

21. Relief Theory available [online]

28
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_humor#Relief_theory

22. S.I. Ozhegov, 1984, Словарь русского языка . Русский язык, p. 815
23. Self- deprecation available [online]
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=self- deprecation (19.01.19)
24. Self- hatred [online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-hatred#Self-deprecation
(19.01.19)

25. Sheila Lintott, Fall 2016, Superiority in Humor Theory, p. 346, The American
Society for Aesthetics
26. Situational irony available [online] https://ed.ted.com/lessons/situational-irony-the-
opposite- of-what-you-think-christopher-warner (12.05.2019)
27. Sofia Pohodnja (Походня), 1989, Языковые виды и средства реализации иронии,
Каф. иностр. яз. - Киев : Наук. Думка, p. 34
28. Superiority theory available [online]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_humor (27.01.19)
29. Verbal irony available [online] https://www.litcharts.com/literary-devices-and-
terms/verbal- irony (01.05.2019)

30. Д. Э. Розенталь, 2003, Справочник по русскому языку, p. 155

31. Е. Ю. Третьякова,2001, Ирония в структуре художественного текста

available [online] http://www.relga.ru/Environ/WebObjects/tgu-
www.woa/wa/Main?textid=443&level1= main&level2=articles (10.05.2019)
32. Михаил Орлов, 2005, Текстообразующая ирония в русской и английской прозе,

33. Олма-Пресс, 2004, Большая литературная энциклопедия для школьников и

студентов, p. 346
34. Три теории юмора available [online]
http://www.cinemotionlab.com/stati/tri_teorii_yumora/ (02.02.19)

29