Which two sentences in the adapted excerpt from Mark Twain's "The Danger of Lying in Bed" are examples of verbal irony?
Answers
The irony means that the statement which has the meaning opposite to what is said literally. When words expressed depicts the opposite meaning of what has been said, the irony is then called verbal irony. Sentences like: “San Francisco is one-eighth as populous as New York; there are 60 deaths a week in the former and 500 a week in the latter—if they have luck.”
“That is 3,120 deaths a year in San Francisco, and eight times as many in New York—say about 25,000 or 26,000. The health of the two places is the same.”
“Don't stay at home any more than you can help; but when you have GOT to stay at home a while, buy a package of those insurance tickets and sit up nights.”
gives an ironical statement in order to present the importance of living in a comical and humorous way.