Alanis Morissette uses situational irony throughout the lyrics of her song “Ironic.” Situational irony is explained by situations whose outcome is subverted, thus giving unexpected results. The lyrics talk about situations whose results are saddening because they would not be expected under normal circumstances. For example, at the beginning of the song, Morissette says that an old man who just turned 98 won a lottery and died the next day (Morissette, 2007). A 98-year-old man with lottery money would expect to celebrate and enjoy life using his money. Conversely, he dies just a day after, even before he gets a chance to spend the money. Another line in the chorus mentions rain on a wedding day. The irony is in the act of raining during the wedding hence setting a poor mood and conditions for the celebration.
The song also talks about a man afraid of flights, and when he took the first trip, the plane crashed, and he thought that it was nice. The irony is that instead of having the best experience, the plane crashes, and instead of him saying it was bad, he says it is nice. Another ironic situation is meeting the man of your dreams and later meeting his wife (Morissette, 2007). The irony is that the man of my dream should not be married. In my life, I have experienced situational irony; for example, one day, I woke up late, so I did not check my phone and rushed to school because I had a morning class. Upon reaching the classroom, I learned that the class had been canceled earlier that morning. Last week I saw my friend from a distance, and instead of taking my phone and calling him, I started running after him, and as I got near, he entered a taxi.
Reference
Morissette, A. (2007). Alanis Morissette – Ironic (Official 4K Music Video). YouTube.