poetic device: Irony

Irony is when what you expect to happen doesn’t occur, but instead results in the opposite action or effect. For example, if someone were run over by an ambulance, or if you went to “Camp Sunshine” and it rained the whole week.

All of these poems have at least one example of irony each, usually at the end of the poem. See if you can figure out what is ironic in each of these poems.

Moving to China
Snow Mail by Kenn Nesbitt
Snow Mail
My Penmanship Is Pretty Bad by Kenn Nesbitt
My Penmanship Is Pretty Bad
Snow Day
I’m Not Picky
My Mouse is Misbehaving
Bigfoot’s Shoe Emporium
My Parents Sent Me To the Store
My Dog Is Not the Smartest Dog
I Like Myself the Way I Am by Kenn Nesbitt
I Like Myself the Way I Am
My Mirror Likes to Argue
I Saw a Sloth Play Soccer
An Echo in My Room
Mr. Obvious
I Didn’t Do It
The Marvelous Homework and Housework Machine
Ode on a Unicycle
I Ran for the Chapstick
Charlie Has the Chicken Pox by Kenn Nesbitt
Charlie Has the Chicken Pox
I Tried to Find a Dinosaur
Halloween Party
If I Had a Dollar
Itches by Kenn Nesbitt
Itches
Sharpen Sharpen Sharpen by Kenn Nesbitt
Sharpen, Sharpen, Sharpen

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