Where Does Irony Occur In Twelfth Night?

Dramatic irony is in speeches or a situation of drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the play. For instance when Judge Danforth and Elizabeth Proctor were talking; Danforth: "We are given to understand that at one time you dismissed your servant, Abigail Williams...Why did you dismiss Abigail Williams?" Elizabeth:"She dissatisfied me; And my husband" (Act IV). This quotes shows dramatic irony when Elizabeth lies to protect Johns reputation, but what she does not know is that John himself has already confessed to adultery. Thus both of their reputations are damaged, John’s for adultery and Elizabeths for

In the play Romeo and Juliet, Act 3 Scene 5, Juliet is fighting with her father, Lord Capulet. This is because she is going against his will for her to marry Paris. Lord Capulet’s emotions are of anger and disbelief as Juliet does not want to marry Paris. Unknown to Lord Capulet, Juliet is already married to Romeo. This is a specific example of dramatic irony as us the audience know something which another character does not know.

Furthermore, many significant techniques are found in the play. Irony is an important technique, which engages the reader in the process of linking the actions to each other. Irony can be seen in Ann and

In the play Macbeth by Shakespeare, Shakespeare uses irony throughout the whole plot. We are able to see how the characters portray to be somebody in reality they’re not. The irony helps set a theme full of action. Macbeth has always killed ever since he joined the war but now he seems to kill just to gain power. He kills King Duncan to become the next king.

Irony is another literary tool that is used throughout the play. An example of the irony is that Macbeth doesn’t really enjoy the beneficial aspects of being king. Once when he becomes king, his paranoia

Shakespeare creates dramatic irony by giving the audience information that only they and a couple of characters are aware of. In this scene, Hamlet and the audience find out that not only was the old king murdered but his murderer is his own brother who currently sits on the throne (I.v.74-79). This

Three forms of irony may be found in the play, Macbeth: Dramatic irony, being the difference between what the audience knows and what a character knows to be true; Verbal Irony, being a difference between what is said and what is meant; and Situational Irony, a difference between what happens and what is expected to happen. I will attempt to show examples of

Dramatic irony in the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet has long been the subject matter of literary critical reviews. This essay will exemplify and elaborate on the irony in the play.

Example two of my dramatic irony takes place in act 2 scene 2. A general sense as to what is happening during this time of the play is that Hamlet states to Rosencrantz that he is extremely bored, has loss sense of his emotions and has completely let himself go. Shortly after, he is told there are actors on their way to try to entertain Hamlet. Upon the actors arrival, Hamlet specially requests for the first player and his cast to preform The Murder of Gonzago, with the addition of a few lines that Hamlet writes in attempts to mess with Claudius's conscience. There is dramatic irony present in this part of the play because Hamlet is setting up a mouse trap, however, many actors including Claudius are unaware of what Hamlet is trying to do. The use of the dramatic irony in the scene manipulates audience sympathies, develops character and develops the

    Shakespeare cleverly uses the art of disguise, in both his tragedies and his comedies, in order to employ a literary device known as dramatic irony, where the audience members are aware of something (in this case the true identity of characters) that characters in the play are not. This, of course, creates tension in a play and excites the audience; actions take place on the stage, of which the audience knows the import, but characters on the stage do not. It also creates a setting for a great deal of irony where characters make comments that take on a double meaning.

Dramatic irony is when the reader understands the situation but the characters in the story haven’t noticed what is really going on. In one of the scenes of the play, Algernon and Cecily are having a conversation, he asks her that if he would mind being with someone that was not named Earnest and had a different name, knowing that his name is Algernon. Algernon says, “But, my dear child, do you mean to say you could not love me if I had some other name?” Then after exchanging a few words she says, “I might respect you, Earnest, I might admire your character but I fear that I should not be able to give you my undivided attention.” We, as the readers, know that his name is not Earnest. We know his true identity of, and how he is lying to Cecily. In his attempt to come out with the truth, Cecily tells him what he does not want to hear. Cecily doesn’t know of his true identity, creating dramatic irony.

In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet there are many instances of dramatic irony where the reader or audience member knows something that the characters don’t. On instance is when Friar Lawrence is the only person that knows that Juliet really isn’t dead she is just sleeping, but her parents and nurse don’t know. Which leads to her family and her nurse to freak out and start planning a funeral instead of a wedding. The reader can then predict that when the family and friends arrive to the funeral and they don’t see her things will start to get suspicious. Shakespeare includes many examples of dramatic irony throughout the play including act four where the audience and reader know something that the characters do not know to add dramatic effect and a longer story to watch.

    Irony, or the “hiding what is actually the case” in order to “achieve special rhetorical or artistic effects” (Abrams 135), is amply demonstrated in Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet.

Dramatic irony is a very useful tool for comic situations. When the audience understand something that the characters in the play don’t, it creates a funny scene in the play. Shakespeare uses this a lot in Twelfth Night to create humor, as do other authors and playwrights. When characters in the play soliloquize, the audience finds out a lot of useful information, some information Shakespeare uses to create dramatic irony. When using dramatic irony, Shakespeare makes his plays way more comical.

With a play, Shakespeare knew that the audience had a short attention span, and therefore, there constantly need conflict or humor, and dramatic irony serves that purpose. The characters are completely ignorant to the effects of the things they say. Though, the audience knows that Viola has dressed herself like a man, none of the other characters know of this fact. The audience truly becomes the audience. Orsino, thinking that Cesario is a man, compliment him for his womanly parts. Viola even goes as far as hinting her love for Orsino, when Orsino asks, “What kind of woman is ‘t” Viola replies, “Of your complexion” (2.4.30-31). The audience is humored by this interaction. Subsequently, Malvolio is made a victim for the sake of humor. Using deception, the staff of Olivia’s household, along with Sir Toby Belch, tricks Malvolio into thinking that Olivia loves him. Given instructions to wear yellow stockings, and to be cross gartered, Malvolio is used to entertain the audience. Dramatic irony is used to interest the audience with an interesting