Irony In the Poems of Nissim Ezekiel

Exploring Irony in the Poetry of Nissim Ezekiel

Abstract

Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used insuch a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning ofthe words. It may also be a situation that may end up in quite a different waythan what is generally anticipated. In simple words, it is a difference betweenthe appearance and the reality. Irony works with great force and acquires a newmeaning in post-modern literature. Ironic mode imparts a dignity and magnitudeto the writer’s creative writing technique in handling the social themes. ShivK. Kumar, K.N. Daruwalla, Nissim Ezekiel, R. Parthasarthy etc. are the greatestironists in modern poetry. He was always conscious of the various socialproblems existing in India and wanted to remove them by highlighting themthrough his poems. The present paper analyses the use of irony in the poems ofNissim Ezekiel.