Irony is a tough concept for many students of literature to understand. This is partly because the definition of what is and what is not ironic has been clouded by incorrect usage of the term over the years. In literary circumstances, irony is the situation in which someone says or does something, but means another thing or intends for something else to happen that would be contrary to thought. In literature, there are three main subtypes of irony. They are verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony.