Verbal Irony

All the Light We Cannot See

by Anthony Doerr

All the Light We Cannot See: Verbal Irony 1 key example

Definition of Verbal Irony

Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging outside and someone remarks "what... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean... read full definition
Twelve (1974): Sea of Flames
Explanation and Analysis—The Sea of Flames:

In the following passage from Section 12, towards the end of the novel, Doerr includes a vivid description of the Sea of Flames, albeit an unexpectedly ironic one:

It is cut, polished; for a breath, it passes between the hands of men. Another hour, another day, another year. Lump of carbon no larger than a chestnut. Mantled with algae, bedecked with barnacles. Crawled over by snails. It stirs among the pebbles.