There are three different types of irony. Dramatic irony is when the reader or audience understands something that the characters do not. Situational irony is the difference between what happens and what was expected to happen. Verbal irony is when words express something contrary to the truth or when someone says the opposite of what they feel.
The passage, "May the Gods rain down all kinds of fortune on your lives, misfortune never harbor in your homeland," is from <em>The Odyssey</em>. Odysseus says this prayer after King Alcinous told the nobles to be generous with their gifts. It is ironic because Odysseus is the reasoning for their suffering. It is an example of situational irony because Odysseus is causing their misfortune and saying a prayer that there not be misfortune in their land.
