The three main types of irony in literature are verbal irony, situational irony, and dramatic irony. Something is classed as verbal irony if the speaker intends it to be ironic. An example of verbal irony is Oscar Wilde’s epigram, ‘I can resist everything but temptation.’ Situational irony is created when our expectations for an outcome are reversed. O. Henry’s story, ‘The Gift of the Magi’, is an example of situational irony. A woman cuts off her hair to buy her husband a new chain for his watch. Meanwhile, the husband sells the watch to buy his wife a comb for her beautiful hair. Dramatic irony is created when the reader or audience knows more about a character’s situation than they do. Tragic irony is a type of dramatic irony. Shakespeare’s comedyTwelfth Night is full of dramatic irony. For example, the audience knows that Viola is a woman disguised as a man but the characters don’t.