World Class Poetry Blog

Irony, The Sincerest Form Of Word Play
8 December 2007, the poet @ 9:30 pm

This from Ploughshares:

It occured to me the perfect confrontation between the ironic and the sincere. In the movie, at least in this scene, the sincere has the upper hand. In the ideal writer, however, I suppose these characters’ traits would be combined, aesthetics dictating what percent of each character would be included.

I haven’t seen the movie (Mulholland Drive) from which this scene is extracted, but I like the idea Chris Tonelli is working with. Irony is one of my favorite poetic techniques. But I’m a little bit unnerved at the thought of irony and sincerity being put beside each other this way. It’s as if Chris is saying that one cannot be ironic and sincere at the same time unless one is aesthetically inclined. I may be interpreting it incorrectly.

In my mind, irony is the sincerest form of word play. It allows us to see the world through the lens of opposites without being overtly confrontational. There is always a silent humor attached to irony no matter how dark it might be. The humor is typically a light, a beacon that shines with an illumination of some truth the reader is intended to glean from the poetic tool itself. This sincere gesture on the part of the writer is most effective when the reader shares a common set of values. Otherwise, the irony runs the risk of not being recognized.

Irony, sincerity, humor, truth - like a ball of yarn, the elements just tangle themselves into a toy of usefulness. What is a mere plaything for one cat is a useful tool of trade for a spinner. The writer plays; the author spins a yarn. The reader either gets on the level of the cat and enjoys the fun or heads to the department store to consume a garment. Either response is acceptable, but one can’t do both. Ahh, the irony!

4 Comments a “Irony, The Sincerest Form Of Word Play”

1. Crafty Green Poet — December 11, 2007 @ 11:34 am
   

   Mulholland Drive is a wonderful film, very bizarre and weird. I like irony when used well and this is an interesting post, plenty of food for thought for a writer!

2. the poet — December 11, 2007 @ 7:41 pm
   

   Thanks Crafty Green! Glad you stopped by.

3. poet-songwriter — January 1, 2009 @ 9:39 pm
   

   Thanks for this post and I have already bookmarked it for future reference. It is affirming for me personally to see how you articulate this concept. I googled the words ‘ironic word play’ while trying to express one of the aspects of my lyric writing for an ad with a 20-word limit, and that’s how I found this post and your blog. I wanted to see if those words could adequately express this aspect of my writing, and the things you say here are exactly what I wanted to convey! The silent humor, the light, the beacon, and yes, the risk of not being recognized - plus the listener’s choice whether or not to engage with it on the level of fun….

4. the poet — January 4, 2009 @ 4:42 pm
   

   Thanks PS, glad to be of service.

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