Irony

 Irony and paradox are separate poetical strategies, even though they are frequently combined when used as New Critical tools for reading poetry. For Brooks, the paradox is "a special kind of qualification which involves the resolution of opposites," whereas irony is "the obvious warping of a statement by the context."

In the overarching context of the words that make up the poem's surrounding lines, irony serves as a presence in the text. Only formulations like "2 + 2 = 4" are exempt from irony; most other statements are susceptible to and influenced by their immediate context (for instance, the joke that follows). When a woman enters a bar, she requests a double entendre. She receives it from the barman. This final phrase, which is quite appropriate elsewhere, is changed to an innuendo by the context of the comedy. The irony is the key to validating the poem since the context of any statement determines whether it is suitable or not, and validating a statement necessitates looking at the statement in the context of the poem.

However, the paradox is crucial to the poem's structure and essence. In The Language of Paradox (The Well Wrought Urn), Brooks demonstrates how paradox was practically equal to poetry in terms of its importance to poetic meaning. Leroy Searle, a fellow New Critic, claimed that Brooks' use of paradox highlighted the hazy boundaries between form and substance. The language of the poem "effects the reconciliation of opposites or contraries" and "the form of the poem uniquely embodies its meaning." While irony has a purpose in the poem, paradox frequently alludes to the poem's meaning and structure and is thus inclusive of irony. Poetry and the poem's meaning both depend on the existence of opposites or contraries and their reconciliation.