tsuwm: I first only knew a few of the lyrics that weren't ironic, but I just clicked on the site you provided and some of those examples are ironic. "Raining on your wedding day" I don't see as being ironic, however--just a turn in the weather. I've read much of Hardy, but not Life's Little Ironies...I will take a look.

The examples I listed in the first post are examples of various types of irony, but certainly not in the strictly classical sense. I don't see any purpose in restricting here a discussion of irony and its examples to the classic definition unless that's what posters here would rather do. If we did, it would make the task more challenging, but enlightening. I'd have to work like the devil to restrict my wildfire's range of what I view as irony into modest candlelight.

I wish we had some excellent examples here on the thread. When Kate in Taming of the Shrew is played very well, her final soliloquy about the role of the wife works best (and only well, in my opinion) if delivered with an ironic tone of voice. If delivered otherwise--with saccharine obsequiousness, for example--I want to spit in her eye.

Anyway, I'll keep my fingers crossed (the ones that are awkwardly gripping this stochastic iron with which I try to poke the embers of the ironic fire), and maybe something will flare up.

Best regards,
WildFire