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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. 1–18

Chapter 6
Simulating ignorance

Irony and banter on Congreve’s stage

| University of Lyon 3 – France

This study reflects the importance of in staged discourse. It shows how in late seventeenth-century Restoration comedy, both and 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 serve to expose a from the norm. However, these discourse practices also serve to 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 ”.

Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Irony and in
  • 3.Impaired vision and erroneous evaluations
  • 4.Irony in : between speaker and audience
  • 5.Irony, , and the simulation of ignorance as a
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 25 April 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lal.30.06man
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