Although Alanis is not one of my personal favorites, even I can't simply ignore that excellent ironic masterpiece of her, called incidentally, "ironic".

When you think irony, what is the first idea that pops up in your mind?
In my eyes, the immediate answer is Jane Austen. In order to fully grasp that thought of mine, I urge you- watch "Becoming Jane". For some peculiar reason, way beyond my understanding, the exquisite film did not do very well in box-office terms, nor receive any major awards, but it did manage to infiltrate my heart. The film is so sad, that even after watching it a dozen times before (I'm not exaggerating), I still spend most if it weeping like there is no tomorrow… why? It's tragically ironic.

What does Google have to say about that? Well, apparently the public prefers Alanis over Jane, at least in terms of irony, for the famous song is the first and major listing popping up during the search for irony on the World Wide Web.

Did you ever stop and think what does Irony really mean, symbolize? We would have to go back to its roots in order to answer this question. Eirōneía, in ancient Greek, means hypocrisy, deception, or feigned ignorance, not very cheerful and upbeat, yet in "becoming Jane", during one of the scenes we witness the following fragment of conversation: "It is my considered opinion that irony is insult with a smiling face." Jane then disagrees and states that "irony is the bringing together of two contradictory truths to make out of the contradiction a new truth with a laugh or a smile, and I confess that a truth must come with one or the other, or I account it as false and a denial of the very nature of humanity itself.". You can probably guess by now that I prefer the latter definition.

My search continues, why stop at pop culture and profound poetry? I wouldn't want to miss on revealing to you the true essence purpose of irony- commercial use obviously! For example, why not call a company that specializes in decorative wrought iron and other eclectic assortment of gifts, IRONIC… well, isn't that ironic?

http://ironichomedecor.com/