What is dramatic irony?

Dramatic Irony is where the reader or audience know something the characters in the story do not.

This occurs in films and plays when the author has already told the audience something about the action or characters which the characters themselves don't know.. This usually gives the actions or speach in the play a different meaning. For example, if a character says 'I would never rob a bank', but the audience already know he will.

Dramatic irony is when the reader (you) knows something important that one or more of the characters in the story don’t know. It is as though you have been let in on a secret by the person narrating the story. It is different from situational irony (see below) - be careful not to confuse these.

To summarise:

• Dramatic Irony is when the reader knows something important that one or more of the characters don’t know.
• situational Irony occurs when an event in a story turns out to be the exact opposite of what the reader had expected to happen.

Dramatic irony is a literary and dramatic device or technique. It is used to great effect in literature and drama and cinema. A good example would be when the readership or audience knows something which the characters are performers do not. An example would be Viola's disguise in 12th Night - or The scene of the Policeman standing behind Charlie Chaplin in The Tramp. We know but Charlie himself doesn't.

Dramatic irony is a technique used in drama. It is a concept whereby the audience possesses knowledge about a member of the cast that the other players do not know. For instance, the audience all know that Juliet is only pretending to be dead in 'Romeo and Juliet', while Romeo belives, grief stricken, that she is dead before he kills himself.

This is not to be confused with the concept of irony, which puts forward contrasting ideas which can highlight a reality - real or imagined.

Dramatic irony is where the audience knows something that the audience know something that the characters do not. A good example of dramatic irony is in Macbeth displayed here when Macbeth and the lords are awating the arrival of Banquo. We know Macbeth has informatiom in regards to the murder, and we are aware of his actions. Macbeth statement "the general joy o’ the whole table, and to our friend Banquo, whom we miss, would he were here, I to all, and him, we thirst" creates deception. He knows about the murder but awaits his arrival.

Dramatic irony is a literary device whereby the audience/reader is more aware and have a better understanding of the events occurring than the actual characters.

Dramatic irony is something that the audience/reader knows, but the character in the play/novel does not know yet. For example: if you (as a reader) knew that someone had eaten a characters lunch, but they didn’t know yet, as they’re making their way to the fridge, this is dramatic irony.

Dramatic irony is a literary technique that suggests to the audience what is coming next, but is unknown to the character - The most famous example of dramatic irony is contained within the film 'Titanic', when the films main protagonist, Rose DeWitt Bukater, leans on the balcony just before the ship hits the iceberg and says ''it's so beautiful I could just die''.

Dramatic irony is used in script writing, it means when audience know that something is gonna happen the truth but the main character does not.

Dramatic irony is a technique used by writers predominantly in drama. It is when a character on stage is unaware of the significance or impact of what they are saying or doing, yet the audience is fully aware because of their wider understanding and knowledge of the circumstances in the play or the context in which the play is produced and performed. Put simply, the audience knows something that a character doesn't, which leads to feelings of anxiety or even humour in the audience.

Dramatic irony is a literary technique. It is when a characters words or actions is clear to the audience or reader but unknown to the character.

When the audience know something the characters do not.

The audience know the titanic sinks - the characters do not.

Dramatic irony occurs when the meaning of a situation is understood by the audience/ reader but not by the characters in the play/novel. For example in Romeo and Juliet when Romeo thinks that Juliet has drunk poison to kill herself, but the audience knows that she is just asleep.

It’s when the audience knows something that one or more characters in a play doesn’t. For example, in A View from the Bridge - Eddie comes home from drinking and doesn’t know that Catherine and Rodolfo are in the bedroom - the audience knows they are there and that Eddie will be angry so suspense is created.