ABSTRACT
Polemical irony takes many forms, from the sophisticated manipulation of ideas within an elite context, to the heavy sarcasm of the popular orator. By the same technique, of course, 'Dreyfusard' was turned from an insult into a term of praise. Use of one's enemies' phrases for one's own purposes was a technique employed by Urbain Gohier with great subtlety; and it will be worth looking at his use of the terms 'internationaux' and 'sans-patrie' in some detail. The techniques Urbain Gohier uses, however, point to it as irony, linked to polemical effect; a use of heavy paradox, with a nod and a wink. By subtle allusion, irony and periphrasis, a more educated public is amused and enthralled. On the other a wider general public is carried along by blunt and repeated insults, many of them being simplified versions of what has been produced for the other audience.
