Irony: the art of lightening life with elegance

Victor Hugo said: "Freedom begins with irony." An attitude that brings people together, creates empathy, and bridges distances. As long as you don't overdo the sarcasm.

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irony to live better

The most convincing manifesto-phrase on irony remains that of Victor Hugo: "The freedom It begins with irony." Absolutely true. And to see real-time confirmation of this, just take a look at the many authoritarian regimes, veritable dictatorships, that we have around the world: every type of sarcasm is forbidden. Everywhere, in these places where freedom has disappeared, people smile little and joke even less, even about themselves.

Irony is a form of dissimulation, as the root of the word in both Greek and Latin suggests. But it can be dissimulated for many reasons, some more noble, others rather opaque. In the first case, for example, irony lightens a difficult situation, a problem that threatens to overwhelm us, a dialogue teetering on the brink of confrontation. It is a powerful, yet gentle, force. In the second case, however, irony can transform into an attempt to escape reality, to avoid taking on responsibility, and even to lie. An equally powerful, yet violent, force.

So irony has a revolutionary power. A well-chosen phrase, with the right tone, and perhaps even accompanied by a gesture that reflects it, can be much more effective than any boring reprimand.

Irony grants us lightnessIn a heavy and burdensome world. Surrounded as we are by people who always tend to take themselves very seriously, who shoulder the world's problems, a penchant for irony becomes a veritable vaccine. It distances us from this dullness of our own ego, the epicenter of the universe.

Irony, if well dosed, brings us closer, creates empathy, reduces any form of distance. And therefore generates community, relationships, affection. Usually, people who are very fortunate to love, and love a lot, also manage to be ironic; on the contrary, those who always have a grudge to deal with, those who struggle to speak the Language of love, he rarely manages to shine with a sense of humor. And when he tries, he even runs the risk of being clumsy.

Finally, irony should never be overdone, especially if the person you're speaking to is prone to sensitivity. Irony, which in many manuals of good manners is almost naturally associated with elegance, should never lapse into cynicality. sarcasmOtherwise, we risk crossing the sometimes very fine line between an effective joke and an offense, even an insult. The web has given irony a powerful viral boost, and today any joke, any touch of intelligent sarcasm, can infect us almost instantly. We don't need to go to the old-fashioned bar to meet the dispensers of smiles, true and natural antidepressants, equipped with the gift of irony. We have everything at our fingertips, or rather, at our clicks. We just need not waste the many opportunities that come to us under the banner of internet-ridden irony.

Irony famous quotes

  • Nicolàs Gòmez Dà Villa

People without backbone, and even a little cowardly, tend to be weak with the strong and strong with the weak. This is why they oscillate between derision and veneration. These are fragile attitudes, while irony has the lightness of a smile; it stings but doesn't hurt. And above all, it respects the person it's directed at.

  • Jules Renard

The modesty evoked by this phrase is that of kindness, good manners, and caution, respectful of others' sensitivities. One can be ironic and even cutting, without straying into the swampy terrain of shamelessness, which, among other things, often translates into a form of vulgarity.

  •  Giambattista Vico
It took a philosopher, and a philosopher of great caliber, to give us a very concrete and contemporary compass for the use of irony. And its dosage. We need to reflect on how to best use it and avoid reducing irony to a narcissistic game, an end in itself.
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