Irony

Irony is a fundamental part of Greek tragedies. This irony is created when the audience knows something that the characters in the play do not. Through this use of dramatic irony, the audience feels more engaged in the story, creating a feeling of suspense and foreshadowing later events. In the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex, Sophocles’ use of irony does just that. Through the speech and actions of Oedipus, Iocastê, and others, Sophocles utilizes irony to allude to future events, create anticipation,…

Globally acclaimed as Jackson 's masterpiece, "The Lottery" infuses the elements of horror, domestic placidity and irony which often, are found separately among different short stories in this collection. The suburban setting that the "The Lottery" is set, is an important aspect. This is because Jackson modeled it after the Vermont community in which she spent much of her adulthood. The town in which the lottery set, is depicted as a normal and pleasant community, which provides readers with…

Kate Chopin and “gift of magi” by O Henry, “the story of an hour” most effectively employs the use of irony. Chopin’s brilliant ways of using the irony in the story was the main reason why his readers can’t always predict the path of the story as they are constantly can’t be sure of the twists and turns it will take them to. In "The Story of an Hour", there are lots of instants when the irony took its place in the story. One of these instants was, "assure himself of its truth by a…

times it could be sad. Pitty is used in stories to make the reader feel sorry for the character who needs help or is struggling. Situational irony is when things go the complete opposite of what is planned. Sometimes it can be a good opposite and other times it can be bad. Like in the story “The Necklace” by Guy De Maupassant, the author uses situational irony by making the readers feel pity towards Mathilde. In the story “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry, the author makes the readers feel…

Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem, “Richard Cory,” is brimming with irony. The brilliant use of situational irony takes the seemingly perfect life of Richard Cory and surprises us all once we reach the last line of Robinson’s poem. In fact, this poem seems eerily similar to Robin Williams’ situation. Richard Cory and Robin Williams both appeared to have their lives together; both rich, always smiling and making other happy, and were both held to higher standards. However, much like Richard Cory,…

twittering. Consequently, she too was unaware of what was about to transpire in this single hour of her life. The narrator in each tale lead you to believe there was nothing furthermore out of the ordinary to arise. In these narratives, the strong use of irony and symbolism help to convey the element of surprise.…

In Kate Chopin's short story ¨Desiree's Baby¨, Irony is the main point of the story. Situational Irony is shown throughout the story. This starts with the unknown past of Desiree and concluding with the realization of what Armand had done to his wife. In the story it is stated between context of how the racial superiority is for the family's name. Armand once said how much he adored and loved his wife, but later led her to kill herself along with their baby. ¨That is, the girls obscure origin.…

soul, fair Helena!”, irony at its finest. Midsummer Night’s Dream may be 400 years old . . . it still has many scenes of irony in it. It has all three types of irony. Verbal, Situational, and Dramatic irony appear a number of times in the play. What do these types of irony mean though . . . Verbal irony is when a character says something they don’t actually mean. Situational irony is when you think something is going to happen and the opposite happens. Finally, Dramatic irony is when the…

so that the story is enhanced and sharpened. An interesting literary device that is constantly used is irony, which is used constantly in multiple literary works to intensify the characters, theme, and plot. There are different types of irony that authors use to have an impact on the audience. According to Approaching Literature, “Style is particularly important for the more complex tone of irony: expression in which the writer or speaker creates a discrepancy or incongruity between what seems…

Irony is used in the stories “Sorry, Right Number” by Stephen King and “Back There” by Rod Serling. Verbal irony uses sarcasm to hide how the character actually feels, while situational irony is what is the opposite of what is expected from that situation. Irony is needed in both of these stories because it builds suspense, makes the desire of the reader to keep reading, and making the overall story more enjoyable. In King’s “Sorry, Right Number”, he uses verbal irony through the stage…