Cosmic irony, also known as irony of fate, is a literary device where the universe or fate seems to play a cruel joke by thwarting expectations. It is a type of situational irony that involves characters receiving the opposite of what they expect or deserve, giving the impression of a profound injustice inflicted by fate or a higher power.
Example: In the ancient Greek myth of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus tries to avoid his prophesied fate of killing his father and marrying his mother, but his actions unwittingly lead him to fulfill the prophecy. This irony highlights the impression that cosmic forces shape human destiny in unexpected and often tragic ways.