Each of these words indicates ridicule, contempt, or mockery of someone or something. Irony is a figure of speech in which the literal (exact, denotative) meaning of a word or statement is the opposite of that intended. Cicero defined irony as "the saying of one thing and meaning another." A person uses irony when, on a miserable day, he says "Nice day today, isn't it?" Considered the most ironic writing in all literature is Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal, in which the author "recommends" that the Irish sell their babies to English landlords for food. Satire is the ridiculing of stupidity, vice, or folly; it often employs irony and sarcasm to denounce the frailties and faults of mankind. Satire blends wit and humor with a critical attitude toward human activities and institutions. An attack on man's overconsumption of electricity and fuel would be a satire (satirical treatment) of man's folly in exhausting his supplies of energy. Sarcasm is a form of irony that consists of bitter and often cruel derision. Sarcasm is always personal, always jeering, and always intended to wound: "What a great friend you turned out to be! " "You couldn't tell the truth to save your life! "
Dictionary of problem words and expressions. Harry Shaw. 1975.