The Metropolis

Mopey Monday quote: David Foster Wallace is being ironic

Mike Pollitt | Monday 28 February, 2011 12:46

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Today’s ironically depressing quote is ironically about how depressing irony is.

“Postmodern irony and cynicism’s become an end in itself, a measure of hip sophistication and literary savvy. Few artists dare to try to talk about ways of working toward redeeming what’s wrong, because they’ll look sentimental and naive to all the weary ironists. Irony’s gone from liberating to enslaving. There’s some great essay somewhere that has a line about irony being the song of the prisoner who’s come to love his cage.”—David Foster Wallace, 1993 interview

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