Task to the Lesson Making a Text Ironical

Materials:

The Cop and the Anthem by O'Henry

A. Re-write the following extract* in an ironical tone:

*deliberately edited by the teacher 

Two waiters put Soapy with his left ear on the pavement. He rose on his knees, then to his full height, and beat the dust from his clothes. Arrest  remained a dream. The Island seemed very far away. A policeman who stood before a drug store two doors away laughed and walked down the street.

B. Read the extract to your peers.

What did you add/remove/leave unchanged? Why?

What did your peers add/remove/leave unchanged? Why?

What makes a text ironical?

B. Read the original version.

Neatly upon his left ear on the callous pavement two waiters pitched Soapy. He arose, joint by joint, as a carpenter's rule opens, and beat the dust from his clothes. Arrest seemed but a rosy dream. The Island seemed very far away. A policeman who stood before a drug store two doors away laughed and walked down the street.”

O’Henry

Complete your list of what makes a text ironical