Examples Of Dramatic Irony In Romeo And Juliet

Improved Essays
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Paper The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare is incredibly suspenseful. From viewing the movie and reading the story from the perspective of an audience, it is clear that dramatic irony, soliloquies, and asides, are the most important yet interesting literary devices to the audience. Dramatic irony provides suspense on the stage, due to the audience knowing something that the characters are not aware of. Soliloquies provide useful information from one character alone on stage to the audience. Asides are small bits of text that are shared to a small bit of characters on stage, and to the viewers. Expressly, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet incorporates many essential elements to its …show more content…
On page 981, Mercutio’s statement is a clear example of dramatic irony. Mercutio states: “Why that same pale hard hearted wench, that Rosaline, torments him so that he will sure run mad.” The audience is already aware from the previous scene, that Romeo has moved on from Rosaline, and loves Juliet. In the light of dramatic irony, it is an extremely essential element to a tragedy such as Romeo and Juliet because it provides suspense for the tragic events to come that the audience is already anticipating. Soliloquies are essential in playwright, the audience receives general information from a character, showing how they are feeling. On page 1024-1025, Juliet has an extended soliloquy describing her fear to drink the poison. This long soliloquy provides great knowledge to how Juliet is feeling about the situation at hand. She is fearful of her impending ‘demise’, though she knows that love will guide her through the hardship. Uniquely, soliloquies provide and reflect information on how the character speaking is feeling, instantly intriguing to the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In the play “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles, Shows irony to prove that shame can destroy a person’s well being. To begin with, there was a prophecy that was told to King Laius and Jocasta that their own son will king his own father, and marry his own mother. King Laius ordered the messenger to kill his own son by drowning it in the ocean. But the messenger took pity on Oedipus. So the messenger just left Oedipus there on the field.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Romeo and Juliet is one of the most popular tragedies of all time. The author, Lois Kerschen, analyzed the text more thoroughly in her critical essay on Romeo and Juliet and concluded that they are doomed due to their own character flaws. Kerschen used rhetorical strategies in her argument like the appeal to authority, logos, and transition words. However, she did not include enough information to support her claim. In her argument, Lois began with a very strong hook and then stated her claim.…

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Romeo expresses how amazing and stunning Juliet is. Seeing Juliet changes him because he does not feel worthy to be around her, due to how…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This is an ironic passage Romeo believes he is too depressed and too deeply in love with Rosaline to enjoy himself. Benvolio talked Romeo into attending this party as a way to cure his lovesickness by showing him how many other pretty girls are in Verona. Still, Romeo doesn't believe he could possibly be interested. In this passage, Romeo expresses a sense of foreboding about this party, saying he feels fated for an untimely death. He mentions having had a dream but is diverted from telling it by Mercutio's long discourse on Queen Mab and dreaming.…

    • 839 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mercutio Foils

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Mercutio is known for being the jokester of the play. He doesn’t take love too seriously, in fact, much of his humor regarding love is based in sexual innuendos. " Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down" (1.4) Mercutio openly criticizes the idea of love, often skeptically. Since the entire play is based upon the experience of young love, this kind of character can seem refreshing to the audience as opposed to the more serious and heartfelt moments of the play. Romeo, on the contrary, is very earnest toward love, even if it gets him into a bit of trouble.…

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Constantly committing trickery is a flaw, in many people both in real life and in stories, that always leads to unpleasant ends. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, two lovers from powerful rival families, the Capulets and the Montagues, are married by a priest, Friar Laurence, without their families’ consent. This action ultimately leads to the deaths of the lovers and many others. All of this happens because of the priest’s determination to mend the rift between the families, even if he has to lie to the families to do it. Friar Laurence’s dishonesty and faithfulness is a clear flaw, expressed by the motif of poison, that leads to the tragic ends of Romeo and Juliet.…

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Rithvik Asani Mrs. Miller English 1, Period 1 28 February 2017 Act II In Act 2 Scene 2, Juliet wants to slow things in the relationship between her and Romeo and wants to take things at a steady and unhurried pace, displaying her more reasonable nature, as seen through the use of a simile. In this part of the scene, Juliet starts to show her more rational character and nature, as Romeo starts to swear and makes many ignorant promises to always love and adore Juliet, because he is unaware of the fact that he has really only known her for one day, through saying how his words are “Too like lightning, which doth cease to be/Ere one can say ‘It lightens’” (2.2.119-120). The simile is being developed by the quote here by comparing how fast and quickly…

    • 948 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The tragedy, Romeo and Juliet conveys that love is the answer to everything, but also the end to it all. Although Romeo and Juliet are star crossed lovers, their parents will never allow them to be, as the Capulets and Montagues have long since had a loathing towards each other. Yet their love brings them together, despite what their parents tell them to think, which leads to their short comed death, and it of those close to them. The author uses allusions and word choice to create a mood of passion, conveying that true love is full of passion and impatience. Shakespeare demonstrates the characters infatuation to be with each other through Juliet's’ soliloquy in act III with his use of diction.…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare constructs a play about two star-crossed lovers and their untimely deaths. There is an abundance of reasons as to why the two lovers had to part, but the most prominent one was Romeo’s impetuousness. Romeo acts without thinking because his love for Juliet clouds his judgment. Although most of the play revolves around the concept of fate, it was Romeo and Juliet’s actions that contribute to their deaths. Many negative events lead up to the death of the two star-crossed lovers; Romeo’s banishment for killing his cousin–in-law and Juliet faking her death.…

    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In the dramatic play Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, a few negative events occur in act three. Including, the planning of Juliet’s marriage without her consent adding to overall relationship change in Romeo and Juliet from dramatic irony. Dramatic irony is a type of irony that the audience understands but is not grasped by the characters in the play. In act three, Capulet speaks with Paris about marrying Juliet but, Juliet is already married to Romeo at this point. This in turn affects Romeo and Juliet greatly creating more obstacles.…

    • 219 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Shakespeare, a man who could weave humor into a tragic play, contrasts the somber events of the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. In Act 1, Shakespeare uses Lord Capulet, Montague's servants, and Juliet's nurse to show that there is humor, which impacts the meaning and tone of the play. Indeed, anybody could tell you that the play "Romeo and Juliet" is a tragedy. Although, Lord Capulet, Juliet's father, makes awfully comical jokes during the masquerade in Act 1.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    An unknown author once said, “Some people create their own storms, then get upset when it rains.” Irony can be seen in three different ways, which include dramatic, verbal, and situational irony. Verbal irony is when the opposite of what is meant, is said. Dramatic irony is when the audience or some characters know something that others don’t. Situational irony is when when the opposite of what you expect to happen, happens.…

    • 1098 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This quote shows foil by comparing Romeo’s and Mercutio’s views of love, Mercutio is mocking Romeo’s view of love because Mercutio is an anti-romantic. The use of foil and dramatic irony create suspense, which is the next literary device used in this…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Romeo and Juliet essay The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is one of William Shakespeare's most beloved and performed plays. There is a debate to be had about why the star crossed lovers reach their untimely ends and if and how it could have been prevented. The two prominent arguments are that the characters are controlled by fate, or the characters make their own decisions. Hasty decisions made by the main characters in the play such as their marriage proposal, marriage and the killing of Tybalt cause Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. At Romeo and Juliet’s second meeting at her balcony, the pair plan to get married.…

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    William Shakespeare is one of literatures greatest writers who is best known for his sonnets and plays. One of his most famous plays is Othello. Like most of Shakespeare’s plays, Othello is a tragedy. Othello is the main character of the play who falls in love with Desdemona. Their lives seem to be moving along in happiness, but the infamous Iago has an evil plan in store for them.…

    • 1086 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays