Unexpectedly Positive Outcome

• When an event that at first appears unfortunate later proves beneficial, viewers will perceive the event as ironic. For example, one man may accidentally wander into a dangerous environment, such as a bar fight, but emerge having made friends with his assailants. In another, a woman may argue with a man over a taxi, decide to share it, and fall in love. The unexpectedness of these results entertains the audience.
  
  

Double Occurrence

• Imagine a man who is terrified of flying after surviving a plane crash may after many years finally decide to fly again, but when he finally does, the plane crashes on the tarmac. This is an example of a double occurrence -- the repeated occurrence of an improbable event that stirs the sympathy or elicits the laughter of an audience. The Martin Short film "Pure Luck" makes repeated use of this device, as Short's character experiences the same bad luck experienced by the person he is searching for.
  
  

Deserved Loss

• When a character attempts to cheat or otherwise succeed when morality suggests he should not, audiences may experience a sense of outrage or unfairness. Situational irony remedies this by reversing the apparent success. For example, a character may win a coin toss by using a fake coin, but later will lose everything to an outraged mob after the fraudulent coin is discovered on his person.
  
  

Prophetic Misinterpretation

• Prophetic misinterpretation is another form of situational irony. It occurs when a prophecy comes true, but not in the way the characters expect. For example, a fortune teller may tell a woman she is about to meet the love of her life, but this is not the person she expected. This form of situational irony occurs in Macbeth and other classics.