Ebook: Irony's Edge: the Theory and Politics of Irony

Cover -- Title -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- List of illustrations -- Acknowledgements -- INTRODUCTION: THE "SCENE" OF IRONY -- 1 RISKY BUSINESS: THE "TRANSIDEOLOGICAL" POLITICS OF IRONY -- 2 THE CUTTING EDGE -- I Emotions and ethics on edge -- II The "devil's mark" or the "snorkel of sanity"?: the contradictory functions and effects of irony -- 3 MODELING MEANING: THE SEMANTICS OF IRONY -- I Images en route to a definition -- II Theater goes to the movies: Henry V -- 4 DISCURSIVE COMMUNITIES: HOW IRONY "HAPPENS" -- I The miracle of ironic communication -- II Provocation and controversy: the work of Anselm Kiefer -- 5 INTENTION AND INTERPRETATION: IRONY AND THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER -- I The unbearable slipperiness of irony -- II Eco's echoes and Wagner's vicissitudes -- 6 FRAME-UPS AND THEIR MARKS: THE RECOGNITION OR ATTRIBUTION OF IRONY -- I The sign(s) of the beast-in context -- II Tricksters and enfants terribles: performing ironies -- 7 THE END(S) OF IRONY: THE POLITICS OF APPROPRIATENESS -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Name index -- Subject index.;The edge of irony, says Linda Hutcheon, is always a social and political edge. Irony depends upon interpretation; it happens in the tricky, unpredictable space between expression and understanding. Irony's Edge is a fascinating, compulsively readable study of the myriad forms and the effects of irony. It sets out, for the first time, a sustained, clear analysis of the theory and the political contexts of irony, using a wide range of references from contemporary culture. Examples extend from Madonna to Wagner, from a clever quip in conversation to a contentious exhibition in a museum. Irony's Edge outlines and then challenges all the major existing theories of irony, providing the most comprehensive and critically challengin theory of irony to date.