Orkney snork nie/Orkney sno…: Perspektiewe op herhaling en ironie

Abstract

This article considers the problematic relationship between irony and repetition. Drawing on the work of Friedrich Schlegel, irony is, in an ironic way, defined as the simultaneous validity of two mutually exclusive possibilities between which it is impossible to decide, and the notion of difference is shown to be inherent in repetition. After this discussion of irony and repetition, an example taken from an episode of the Afrikaans sitcom Orkney snork nie is provided. Finally, the (interrupted) repetition of an episode from the Orkney snork nie series is discussed in terms of repetition as irony.