Irony's Edge

<p>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.<br><br><em>Irony's Edge</em> 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.<br><br><em>Irony's Edge</em> outlines and then challenges all the major existing theories of irony, providing the most comprehensive and critically challengin theory of irony to date.</p> Table of Illustrations Introduction: The `Scene' of Irony Acknowledgements 1. Risky Business: The `Transideological' Politics of Irony 2. The Cutting Edge 3. Modelling Meaning: The Semantics of Irony 4. discursive Communities: How Irony `Happens' 5. Intention and Interpretation: Irony and the Eye of the Beholder 6. Frame-ups and their marks: The Recognition or Attribution of Irony 7. The End(s) of Irony: The Politics fo Appropriateness Bibliography