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.

I Love to Do the Laundry by Kenn Nesbitt
I Love to Do the Laundry
Josh, Who Didn’t Like to Wash
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
Morning Sports
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
Ode on a Unicycle
I Saw a Sloth Play Soccer
Mr. Obvious
I Didn’t Do It
An Echo in My Room
The Marvelous Homework and Housework Machine
I Ran for the Chapstick
Charlie Has the Chicken Pox by Kenn Nesbitt
Charlie Has the Chicken Pox
If I Had a Dollar
I Tried to Find a Dinosaur

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