“Rhetorical Irony: A form of irony in which the attitude and tone of the speker or writer is the exact opposite of what is expressed. Such irony is common in the work of Swift, Voltaire, Samuel (Erewhon) Butler, and Antatole France.”
Excerpted from: Cuddon, J.A. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. New York: Penguin, 1992.
Mark's Text Terminal 