The Tragicall History of Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe is a play about a man, Dr. John Faustus, who sells his soul to the Devil in a greedy attempt to become all-powerful. In this play, there is irony weaved into this tale, and it exists in different forms. There are three of several forms of irony that will be discussed in this play: tragic irony, situational irony, and verbal irony. While the irony exists in different forms, it helps to create the mood of the play. The first of these, tragic irony, is a form of dramatic irony where the character, in this case, Dr. Faustus, does or says something that, unknown to him, has a meaning on the audience.
One example of tragic irony that exists in this play is found in Act 1, Scene 1. In this example, Dr. Faustus is reading various books about philosophy and religion. Upon this, he decides that he would join himself with Valdes and Cornelius, two men who have sold their souls to Lucifer. In this scene, he quotes,
“O what a world of profit and delight,
Of power, of honour, and omnipotence
Is promised to the studious artisan?”
Through ...
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "dramatic irony (literature)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .
William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a tragic story about two lovers who are from two disputing families, and their eventual suicides. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony throughout the play to create tension for the audience and foreshadow the ending. Dramatic irony is when the words or actions of characters in a story have a different meaning to the reader than to the characters. This is because the reader knows something that the characters do not. Romeo and Juliet’s death could have been prevented if the characters in the story weren’t so ignorant of their situations, and often times the reader recognizes this.
Even before this story begins, irony is brewing and continues throughout the pages. The creative author is using this enticing technique as a backbone for his play, and also as a key component in foreshadowing the tragic plot. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is filled with many different ironies, so much so, that this reoccurring element tremendously affects the outcome of the story.
In the play Othello, Shakespeare uses many literary devices to help the reader understand the theme of the story. One of those many literary devices used in the play, is the wide range of irony. Throughout the pages of the book the reader will see the use of dramatic, situational, and verbal irony. Shakespeare does not use irony in an understated way, it is very direct, and can be found on almost every page of the book. The use of irony creates suspense, and adds interest as to what will happen.
In the play "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles, the author presents us with several instances of dramatic irony. Dramatic irony occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play. Dramatic irony plays an important part in "Oedipus the King", because it is used to describe Oedipus' character as arrogant and blind toward the truth. The audience is expected to understand Oedipus' history well before he does. In the first three episodes, Oedipus uses a lot of dramatic irony in his speeches.
In the book Hamlet by Shakespeare, irony is used numerous times in order to give the reader insight on what is going on. As stated in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, irony is an action that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play. If this strategy were not included in this drama, it would take away the whole purpose. This play would consist of no suspense and would be extremely boring to the reader because the characters would know as much as the readers know. This allows for incite to what can happen in the future or what has happened in the past. The irony in this play ultimately revolves around Hamlet and his plan to achieve revenge with Claudius. From the play that Hamlet organizes about the death of his father to the ending where Fortinbras happened to be at the right place at the right time to take over the throne in Denmark; this paper examines the cases in where irony is used to show how Hamlet is preventing his murderer uncle from getting away with his fathers death.
Having attained all that he desires from the knowledge of man, Marlowe’s character Faustus turns to the only remaining school of thought that he feels he must master which is the art of necromancy. In his pursuits, he manages to summon the devil Mephistopheles, arch demon of hell, and strikes a deal to trade his immortal soul with Lucifer in exchange for being granted an infinite amount of power and knowledge that extends even beyond the limits of human understanding. However in the process of negotiating the terms of his pact, it becomes clear that Faust is in a constant state of uncertainty in terms of whether he should repent and forsake the arrangement or simply go through with it. This underlying theme of internal struggle is introduced very early and reappears in later acts with the appearance of established binaries that suggest a theme of division not only among the character of John Faustus, but within the written text as a whole. This suggests that Faustus is meant to serve as a symbol for the divided nature of man and the consequences of failing to negotiate the struggles that are a result of the divided self.
The plot of Oedipus Rex uses dramatic irony as a key narrative element. From beginning to the end, Sophocles expose the audience to irony. The result is both shocking and devastating for multiple main characters. Oedipus, for example, states the weight of the punishment Laius’ killer will face. This builds irony because Oedipus is Laius’ killer, but he does not realize it yet. As realization of Oedipus’ crime against the Greek gods begins to set in, so does the climax and resolution of the irony. Overall, Sophocles’ use of dramatic irony is integral to both the progress of the play and to its climax.
Sophocles makes use of many situations involving dramatic irony. In fact, the entire play could be said to be an example of dramatic irony. The audience becomes aware of Oedipus’ prophecy from the very beginning of the play. The reading from the Oracle stated that Oedipus was destined to murder his father and marry his mother. Although Oedipus is unaware of his fate, the reader knows the tragic future of the character. This use of dramatic irony allows the story to avoid the typical Greek tragedy structure and keep the reader intrigued as the events unfold.
Defined by Dictionary.com dramatic irony is “irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience, but not grasped by the characters in the play” (“dramatic irony”). This type of irony is one that is not seen by characters, but is known to the reader. Towards the end of the story Josephine begs for Mrs. Mallard to open up the door and let her in, as she is afraid her sister is making herself ill (Chopin 201). This is dramatic irony as Josephine does not realize that her sister is not actually making herself ill, but is instead rejoicing in her husband’s death. Another instance at the conclusion of the story, Mr. Brently Mallard enters through the door, Richards quickly tries to block him from Mrs. Mallard seeing (Chopin 201). Richards assumes that Mrs. Mallard is still grieving from her husband’s death. He shields her from seeing Mr. Brently Mallard as he knows it will too much emotion. The dramatic irony is Richards does not realize that she is happy and blocking her view of her husband will make her upset, but only because Brently being alive means her freedom is
Irony is a strategy used by Sophocles to create the tragic hero Oedipus and his downfall. There are several examples of irony throughout the play Oedipus Rex, including when Oedipus unknowingly marries his mother and when he curses himself by cursing the murderer of Laius. In the end, Oedipus eventually figures out the truth and gouges his eyes out. His fatal flaw, hubris, was responsible for his
A verse from Luke 12:48 says, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked”. If you are given a talent, such as power, you are expected to produce a culmination of you work. The magic given to characters in books or shows determine the nature of a character through what they do with it. Christopher Marlow's play Dr. Faustus gives this power to the protagonist, Dr. Faustus. It changes his ambitious, overachieving behavior to a dull, mediocre and underachieving demeanor. Power in this play is oftentimes seen as supernatural, specifically the religion of Christianity, forming demons summoned by sorcerers to accomplish near impossible tasks. Faustus wishes
Doctor Faustus, also referred to as The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus is a play by Christopher Marlowe. This play is based on a German story where a man sells his soul to the devil in quest for knowledge and power (Sales 340. The protagonist in this play is Doctor Faustus. Doctor Faustus was hungry of power and knowledge and in search for them; he sold his soul to the devil. At first, he was very happy with the praise he received from the people as they considered him a hero. Later on, Faustus learns that he committed a grave mistake of selling his soul to the devil for twenty-four years. Even though he felt remorseful for his mistakes, it was already late for him. He is later found by his fellow scholars dead and torn from limb to limb. Faustus was a heroic fool who only thought of power and never thought of eternal damnation.
William Shakespeare’s dramatic and poetic techniques and his use of hyperbole are used to describe the characters emotions and weaknesses. The use of dramatic irony is used to create personal conflict. This is done throughout the play to describe the characters concerns and their situations.
Warren D. Smith. “The Nature of Evil in “Doctor Faustus.” The Modern Language Review 60.2 (Apr. 1965): 171-175. Modern Humanities Research Association. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.