The wise Anatole France once said,” Irony is the gaiety of reflection and the joy of wisdom.” Meaning that, irony is a fun thing that the wise are able to use in their writing. Shakespeare is certainly one of the wise who were able to use irony in their writing. Which is most clearly seen in the play Romeo and Juliet. In this play, he used all three kinds of irony incredibly well. All for the sole purpose of making the book enjoyable/better. The three types of irony he used, as you should know, are verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony. Each type adding an extra dimension to the book. Which in turn, makes the book better and enjoyable/better.
To begin with, Shakespeare uses verbal irony in the play to make the book enjoyable/better. Although, there are many types of verbal irony, Shakespeare uses the pun the most in this particular play. For example, at Capulet’s party Romeo is feeling down and does not want to dance when asked by Mercutio. Therefore he replies, “Not I, believe me, You have dancing shoes/ With nimble soles; I have a sole of lead/ So stakes me to the ground I cannot move” (I,iv,14-17). In these three lines Shakespeare is able to refer to the soles of Mercutio’s shoes and Romeos soul; by using verbal irony. By using this pun, Shakespeare is able to add emphasis to how sad Romeo is. So much that, the reader understands how Romeo is feeling, and with this understanding the reader is able to enjoy the book more. Next, when Tybalt fatally wounds Mercutio, Mercutio says before he dies, “Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man” (III, i,98-99). Mercutio is clearly punning on the word “grave”. Showing that, even in death he’s still making jokes. The reader will find this as something that i...
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...rms of high dignity, but alike in lacking dignity. Here, Shakespeare uses situational irony to add humor to the play. Which helps to increase the readers interest in the play, and totally make the play better. By applying situational irony in the play, Shakespeare is able to attract the reader and enhance the play.
Given all these points, Shakespeare beautifully incorporated the three types of irony in a amazing way. He used each for a specific purpose, but all leading up to making the play better and enjoyable. He did show that irony is the joy of wisdom, because he entertained people with irony. He was able to use his wisdom and apply it for the benefit of people of his time period, and in our time as well. All by using irony. For someone to be able to use just one tool of writing is incredible. Therefore, Shakespeare is certainly the King of Irony.
Dramatic irony means that the audience knows something that the character in the piece of literature doesn’t know. In Romeo and Juliet, the audience knows the ending at the very beginning, but still watches Romeo and Juliet fall in love and get married. Eventually, they both kill themselves thinking the other is dead. Suspense relies on dramatic irony because it makes the audience feel tense until the character finds out and the tension is relieved. Suspense also relies on dramatic irony because the audience may learn something the character doesn’t know, making the audience want to tell the characters themselves, knowing fully well that that’s impossible. An example of dramatic irony in Cujo is the car that Donna drives. Donna drives a Pinto which is known as one of the worst cars to ever have existed. The Ford Pinto would explode and had to be recalled. The Pinto in this story, however, saved Donna and Tad from being killed by Cujo. The audience knew that the Pinto was a bad car, but if they were reading the book, they would have realized that there were too many pages left for both of them to die. Also, if they had read this excerpt, they would have thought that StudySync wouldn’t’ve ruined the ending of a story written by Stephen King. Another example of dramatic irony is that Cujo had rabies. In the very beginning of the story, not the excerpt, Cujo gets bitten by a bat. In the excerpt, this can be figured out by how
Irony is the expression of ones meaning by using language that usually signifies the opposite. There are three different types of irony; verbal, dramatic, and situational. Edgar Allen Poe uses verbal and dramatic irony in The Cask of Amontillado to depict a deeper meaning of Montresor’s hate towards Fortunato.
Irony is used in writing to add new interest to a seemingly ordinary subject. Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game and The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe use irony throughout their stories, creating unique works. To recognize Irony, you must first understand it, then you can see how it is used in these two works. Irony is a word with many meanings aside from what we often think of as irony.
In Sophocles: The Theban Plays E. F. Watling comments on Sophocles’ usage of dramatic irony in his dramas: “. . . that powerful and subtle weapon of ‘dramatic irony’ which Sophocles used with especial skill, whereby the audience can judge every speech and action of the play in the light of their previous knowledge of the situation” (12). M. H. Abrams defines dramatic irony as a situation wherein:
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "dramatic irony (literature)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .
One example of expertly used irony is when Hamlet is talking to his mother when he hears a noise behind the curtains, so he stabs the figure behind the tapestries thinking it is Claudius, “How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead!” (3, 4, 24), only to find out it is Polonius. This irony can be interpreted as dramatic irony, because the audience knows Polonius is behind the curtains while Hamlet does not. It can also be interpreted as situational irony, because Hamlet suspects that the person spying on him is Claudius. Wanting to avenge his father, he stabs him through the curtain but it turned out to be Polonius. Doing this initiates a chain of events that lead to his tragic death. Another prime example of irony increasing the enjoyment of the readers for the past 400 years is when Laertes is killed by his own poisoned sword. When Osric asks Laertes how he is doing right after he was scratched with his own sword, Laertes responds, “Why, as a woodcock to mine own springe, Osric. I am justly killed with mine own treachery.” (5, 2, 308-309). It is quite ironic that Laertes is murdered by his own plan. One would expect Laertes to draw first blood as he is a better skilled swordsman than Hamlet. However, he dies by poison first because the sword that was intended to kill Hamlet was used on him; this is situational irony. Irony brings a greater depth to the story.
In both A Streetcar Named Desire and Hamlet, Tennessee Williams and William Shakespeare, respectively, demonstrate their abilities to create engaging plays which work on several levels in order to produce the desired effect. One of the most important characteristics of these plays is the playwrights' success in using their words to create the worlds surrounding their works. Both Shakespeare and Williams effectively use irony in the aforementioned plays, both in the plot and with specific symbolism, to create mildly existential environments where effective irony is a confirmation of fate and justice. Immediately apparent to the reader upon completion of these two works is the glaring appearance of irony in the plays' plots. For example, in A Streetcar Named Desire, a great deal of dramatic irony is created when the audience is made aware of details that characters are ignorant to.
Sophocles’s Antigone uses irony in it to show the quality of characters like Creon and Antigone. Irony was used to bring out the true character in each person in his plays. Sophocles uses irony many times with Creon and Antigone to show who they really were. Sophocles purpose with portraying irony in his writing was to show Antigone as rude and blunt, and to show Creon as prideful and sexist.
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.
Humor can be found to be a virtue and a vice; however, in the grimmest situations humor may allow the gravity to turn into glee and gayness. Mercutio’s greatest aspect is his sense of humor. Which he doesn’t fail to display even in the most inappropriate moments. An instance of such portrayal is during the scene where Romeo has ditched Benvolio and Mercutio in pursuit of Juliet, in the Capulet’s garden. In which Mercutio comically says, “Nay, I’ll conjure too. / Romeo! Humors! Madman! Passion! Lover!” (II.i.7-8). This moment can be considered much graver than Mercutio depicts it to be which makes this scene much more like comic relief than a serious scene. The fact that there are Montague’s in Capulet’s territory is serious enough and can cause some major consequences for the perpetrators if caught. And now to betray their positio...
The types of irony I choose were situational irony and dramatic irony.The reason I choose these 2 was because ,I think these are the easiest to do.Irony is the gaiety of reflection and the joy of wisdom.
One technique that Shakespeare uses is irony. Verbal irony is when a character says one thing but means the opposite. When a reader understands the irony of what a character is saying, then he can truly understand the nature and intentions of the character. An example of verbal irony is when Macbeth says to Banquo, "Tonight we hold a solemn supper, sir,/ And I’ll request your presence" (Macbeth 3.1.13-14). The reader soon discovers that Banquo never makes it to the banquet because he is brutally murdered by order of Macbeth. Shakespeare also uses situation irony. This occurs when the results of an action or event are different than what is expected. An example of situation irony occurs when Macduff talks to Malcolm and discusses the tragedies that are taking place in Scotland. Without knowing that his own family has been slain Macduff says, " Each new morn/ New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows/ Strike heaven on the fac...
Through the combination of the two different types of irony, Shakespeare wasn’t only able to deliver his message, but was also successful in creating a comedy out of it at the same time. By using situational irony, he was able to create plot twists for the audience and make things more interesting. While dramatic irony was used mainly to create a comedic effect for the play. When combined, Shakespeare was able to deliver his message while making a point out of it looking from his perspective. “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind. ” (Pg.
The use of humor in a tragic story helps to give the reader a break from the monotony of a depressing story line. “If a story were completely filled with depressing and tragic events, the readers' interest would most definitely be lost”( Bloom 91). William Shakespeare's, Hamlet is based on the tragedy of a murder of the king of Denmark, whose son must revenge his murderer. Therefore it is classified as a tragedy and if humor weren't present in the play it would be very depressing. Shakespeare ironically uses Hamlet; the main character to add the comedy bit of the play when he is the one the tragedy affects most. This humor is evident throughout the play by Hamlet. When Hamlet is upset at someone like Claudius or Polonius he will mock them in their presence without either one of them really catching on too quickly.
nbsp;   ; Humour plays a very significant part in the play as it allows Shakespeare creates a lot of contrasts and moods, as and when he wants to. In Romeo and Juliet, humour occurs in three forms. The first being, humour. by the use of puns, irony and jokes.