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Part of
The Pragmatics of Irony and Banter
Edited by Manuel Jobert and Sandrine Sorlin
[Linguistic Approaches to Literature 30] 2018
► pp. 103–120

Chapter 6
Simulating ignorance

Irony and banter on Congreve’s stage

| University of Lyon 3 – France
This study reflects the importance of interpretation in staged discourse. It shows how in late seventeenth-century Restoration comedy, both verbal irony and banter rely on the simulation of ignorance in order to achieve a common satirical aim. By offering an opportunity to serve up evaluative comments which when taken literally are erroneous, ironic discourse and banter serve to expose a deviation from the norm. However, these discourse practices also serve to ridicule those who, by failing to detect the discrepancy between literal and intended meaning, fail to question those erroneous evaluations. Ultimately it appears that Congreve’s satirical target is above all those who lack judgement, those who have impaired vision, what Currie (2006) has called “a defective view of the world”.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Irony and banter in satire
  • 3.Impaired vision and erroneous evaluations
  • 4.Irony in banter: Connivance between speaker and audience
  • 5.Irony, banter, and the simulation of ignorance as a face-saving strategy
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 25 April 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lal.30.06man
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2019. The year’s work in stylistics 2018. Language and Literature: International Journal of Stylistics 28:4 ► pp. 354 ff. DOI logo

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