Irony In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

In literature, there are three different types of irony used, verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony. According to the Webster-Merriam Collegiate Dictionary, irony is the use of words to express something other than, and especially the opposite of, the literal meaning of those words. Writers may choose to apply one, all, or any combination of the different types of irony, for any number of reasons. One of the primary purposes for the use of irony is to illustrate a point, without expressly declaring it, so that the reader will think about why the author is making that point. Authors also utilize irony to try to present a humorous tone to the events or to challenge the reader’s expectations. Employing irony into a story can also

All three types of irony, situational, dramatic, and verbal irony are employed by Hawthorne. Hawthorne uses verbal irony, to prepare the reader for the situational irony, when late at night Goodman Brown ventures into the woods and meets an older, mysterious stranger, who claims to be “acquainted with your family as with ever a one among the Puritans” (Hawthorne 388). The mysterious stranger begins to reference all the evil deeds that his ancestors, ironically, had done out for the sake of good. The stranger’s remarks establishes the fact the Goodman Brown’s family were not virtuous Christians. Both men then observe a good Christian woman, Goody Cloyse, walking through the woods at a late hour, which is totally unforeseen. The two men then separate and Goodman Brown observes those the stranger and Goody Cloyse greeting each other. They two begin to speak of worship, a witch’s brew and welcoming a new devotee into their midst that night. Goodman Brown then observes the most god-fearing, principled and moral people he knew, to include his preacher, traveling toward the gathering. Watching these good people mingling with the immoral people of his town, ready to give their souls to the devil creates even more situational irony. These were the people Goodman Brown had thought would be the least likely ones to be swayed into evilness and devil-worship. The verbal irony is presented in the first exchange

Beginning with the title of his story, Poe utilized the same base word for both cask and casket, which is ironic in that the journey to a wine barrel leads Fortunato’s to his final resting place. The irony is not apparent at first, but Poe informs the reader with his first line that this is a tale of revenge. Montresor stated “but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (Poe 714). With the prior knowledge that Montresor is anticipating Fortunato’s downfall, with Fortunato blissfully unaware of that fact, the readers are now conscious of the inherent dramatic irony. This knowledge also emphasizes the recurrent irony that is presented in the conversation between the two men. When Montresor greets Fortunato and tells him “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met” (Poe 715), Poe has made it clear that a catastrophe is about to befall him, thereby rendering Fortunato unquestionably unlucky. The concern Montresor demonstrates for Fortunato’s cough, and Fortunato’s nonchalant reply, “the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me” (Poe 716), is an example of both dramatic and verbal irony. Poe has shown that Montresor is not in the least bit concerned with Fortunato’s health and that he is staging Fortunato’s demise. Another example of irony Poe depicts, is when Fortunato asks Montresor if he is a mason. Montresor then produces a trowel and confirms that he is in a fact a