IRONY Dramatic Situational Verbal DRAMATIC IRONY The audience
IRONY Dramatic, Situational, & Verbal
DRAMATIC IRONY • The audience knows more about events than the characters, so the events hold a different meaning for the audience compared to the characters • Example: In Romeo & Juliet, the audience knows Juliet isn’t actually dead, but Romeo believes she is, which causes him to die.
SITUATIONAL IRONY • The actual outcome of an event is the opposite of the expected outcome of the event • Example: In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the audience expects Professor Snape to be one of the villains. Instead, he was protecting the hero the whole time.
VERBAL IRONY • What the speaker actually says contradicts what he or she really means • Example: In Monty Python’s Life of Brian, Brian tries to explain to a group of people that they are all individuals, which they collectively repeat
DRAMATIC, SITUATIONAL, OR VERBAL IRONY? Examples • • • Mulan Answers • Dramatic Irony 30 Rock Mean Girls Shrek Wayne’s World • • Verbal Irony Situational Irony Verbal Irony
WHAT’S THE POINT? Irony is used for many different things. At times it can be used to create tension, such as in horror movies. It can also be used to create a specific response from the audience, such as pity for an awkward character. It can even be used for humor, such as in Monty Python. In The Crucible, irony is used for all of these purposes. As you read, keep track of examples of each type of irony and think of why they’re used.
- Slides: 6