Davies on Irony

Richard R. Horton (horton@cstc01.mdc.com)
Mon, 27 Nov 95 12:39:53 -0600

"... I cannot think of a better term for it, the drye mock. Not sarcasm,
which is like vinegar, or cynicism, which is so often the voice of
disappointed idealism, but a delicate casting of a cool and illuminating
light on life, and thus an enlargement. The ironist is not bitter, he
does not seek to undercut everything that seems worthy or serious, he
scorns the cheap scoring-off of the wisecracker. He stands, so to
speak, somewhat on one side, observes and speaks with a moderation which
is occasionally embellished with a flash of controlled exaggeration. He
speaks from a certain depth, and thus is not of the same nature as the
wit, who so often speaks from the tongue and no deeper. The wit's desire
is to be funny; the ironist is only funny as a secondary achievement."