In this handy volume, Claire Colebrook offers an overview of the history and structure of irony, from Socrates to the present.

Students will welcome this clear, concise guide, which:

*traces the use of the concept through history, from Greek times to the Romantic period and on to the postmodern era

*looks closely at the work of Socrates and the more contemporary theorists Jacques Derrida and Gilles Deleuze

*explores the philosophical, literary and political dimensions of irony

*applies theories of irony to literary texts

Making even the most difficult debates accessible and clear, this is the ideal student introduction to the many theories of irony.