In constructing irony the reader sees it as
Writers of distinct genres and style enhance their writing by utilizing rhetorical strategies, in which establishes a sense of complexity to the writer’s piece. This indication can be expressed through the article “Mr. Henry Irving’s Macbeth,” a theater review issued by Henry James. Although Henry James appealed to ethos due to the fact that this review was published in a London newspaper in 1875, James transitions throughout the piece by utilizing distinct forms of rhetoric to justify his perspective to the audience. James demonstrates the rhetorical purpose, which is to depict that “actor” Mr. Irving isn’t completely an actor, by utilizing diction, such as the figurative language juxtaposition and oxymoron, and the rhetorical appeal, such as pathos.
By using irony, readers can hear the wisdom in the older narrator but also get to know the narrator in the story – the younger version. Because irony is used, readers can tell when the ‘character’ narrator is oblivious to being used or discriminated against. Irony allows readers to see how naïve the narrator was when he was younger – something that he himself recognizes as he gets older.
The role of irony contributes to characterization by developing the characters personality and by keeping the audience engaged to feel emotion. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, he uses irony to convey emotion to get the audience intrigued. For example, Miller used dramatic irony when one of the characters, Elizabeth (a women who never lies), had lied to “save” her husband but she didn’t know that her husband already disclosed. After she lied, in tears Proctor cries “ Elizabeth, tell the truth…
Irony is the most powerful literary device used in the short story, “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. First, a good example of irony in the story is “They were burdened with sashweights sand bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a pretty face, would feel like something the cat drug in.” (P,2 Line, 11-13) This quote is Ironic as it tells how this system was designed to hide beauty, yet beauty was still shown by the amount of restraints on the person. Second, another good example of irony is, “The spectacles were intended to make him not only half-blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides.
Irony that is in inherent in speeches or a situation of drama and is understood by the audience but not the characters in the play. When Duncan says he trusts Macbeth, but he shouldn't trust him at all because he wants to become king, Act 1 Scene 4. In Act 2 Scene 3, the murder of Duncan is exposed. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both act as if they are innocent in his murder. What Macbeth says about it is clear to us that he is attempting to maintain his innocence while other characters at this point in the story are shocked and in disbelief of what had happened to the
Irony is the opposite of what you would expect and it can show how distorted the brain can get when reaction to fear. In “The Tell Tale Heart,” “His room was a black as pitch,” says the narrator, “with the thick darkness (for the shutters were closed and fastened, through fear of robbers,)”(75). The irony here is that the old man puts up the shutters in fear of being robbed or killed by people coming in, however, he didn't expect the threat to come from the inside. Fear led not only the old man to shut himself in, but also for the narrator to kill the old man
Irony is often used in literature to illustrate certain situations to the audience. In some pieces of literature that might be pointing out an unjust system, in others that might be to add a comedic effect, but whatever situation the author wants to illustrate, irony is very beneficial. Through small and witty, one-liners, or a bigger dramatic irony situation contrasting two very different situations, irony can be very beneficial for the reader to understand the story. Both “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins have a corrupt dystopian society. Through the use of irony, the author can portray the corruptness to the audience.
Edgar Allan Poe creates horror and suspense in his use of irony -including verbal irony, situational irony, and dramatic irony-in his short story “ The Tell-Tale Heart”. Verbal irony is when something that is said means the opposite of what is meant. Poe uses verbal irony when he states, “ I loved the old man.” Situational irony is similar. It is defined as when what happens is different from or even the opposite of what we expected.
Another form of irony is verbal irony. Montag provides verbal irony when he is explaining to Clarisse that “Kerosene is nothing but perfume to me” (Bradbury 4). This is ironic, because kerosene can potentially be lethal if inhaled enough. Finally, Montag is involved in dramatic irony when Beatty visits him when he is sick. Right before Beatty arrived, Montag was reading a book.
William Shakespeare conveys the theme, deception, throughout the play to give a moral lesson and to captivate the audiences. The main theme, deception, can be seen through the structure, dramatic techniques and the use of language. Deception is the act of causing someone to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid. Firstly, Shakespeare uses the structure, for example enjambment, sentence length, caesura and prose, to create the main theme, deception, in the text.
Irony is used by New Criticism as a literary device to give the literature a sense of complexity and deviation. As seen in Texts and Contexts, one of the main characteristics that instills effective work in New Criticism is the ability to be complex, even when seeming simple (Lynn 55). In New Criticism, irony is used as a figure of speech where the speaker 's implication is partially said and partially not said, almost making the reading subjective. The two statements that the speaker have said, and not said are usually in contrast of eachother.
One of the major times irony can clearly be seen is when Emma thinks her own daughter is ugly. Mothers shouldn’t think there own daughter is ugly, especially when they’re crying because the mom shoved the daughter away in a violent manner. Berthe wanted to play with her mom but Emma didn’t want to play and she pushed Berthe away many times before she shoved her daughter away hard enough to cause her to fall and cut her cheek. She calls out to the servants saying that her daughter fell and cut her cheek. Charles, her husband, comes to help and tells his wife to not worry her self over it, even though she wasn’t really to begin with.
Irony is often thought of as entertaining, but it also serves a different purpose. In the play of Sophocles titled Oedipus the King, irony is present in every scene, if not every line. When the protagonist runs away to avoid killing his father and marrying his mother, only to kill his father on the road and go on to marry his mother, it can only be ironic. He is a brave and smart man. He killed four men by himself and outsmarted a Sphinx, and became the great king of the city he rescued from her claws.
Irony is a technique that involves surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions or contrasts ( Glossary... Pg 1). The greatest example of irony happens when it turns out Armand is the one that comes from black heritage. He learns this when he “finds a letter from his mom to his father explaining how he is black” turning the main plot of this story around (Chopin... Pg 5)