The Irony of Faust
Shorty is an aspiring actor, and throughout the play he rehearses certain scenes from a play as an artistic outlet. Ironically, this play is a paraphrased version of Faust by Goethe, which is the story of a man who sells his soul to the devil, the exact same situation Shorty finds himself in.
The Irony of Earthly Pleasure
In making the deal with Shadow, Shorty believes that the earthly power and pleasure he will receive will make him happy enough to outweigh the negative consequences he must face later. Ironically, once he acquires this fame and glory, he becomes sick of it, making both his earthly life and his afterlife full of prospective misery.
The Irony of Shadow
Shadow seems to be the representative of the devil on Earth, and one would expect him to take efforts to disguise this fact by behaving in an inconspicuous way. Ironically, he does exactly the opposite: he clings to Shorty like a shadow, and he accrues such a bad reputation from everyone that they suspect him of every crime from child molesting to slicing his own father's throat.
The Irony of Setting
The play is set on a single stage, and most of the action takes place within the boxing ring used as the setting. This ring, though, is adapted to fit many different scenes, being turned into a jazz club and a theater stage. Ironically, all of these scenes that supposedly take place outside the boxing arena are actually contained within it, emphasizing Shorty's inability to escape his fate.
The Irony of Todd Ketchel
Shadow seems to be afraid of Ketchel's advances, and he desperately wants to avoid a fight between Shorty and Ketchel. This is ironic considering Ketchel's ranking: he's not even in the top ten. He's not a difficult opponent to beat, but Shadow wants to avoid the fight nonetheless.
