Term Paper on "Irony and Romeo and Juliet"

Term Paper 4 pages (1395 words) Sources: 0

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Irony and Romeo and Juliet

In order to understand how irony can contribute to the understanding of a piece of literature, such as Romeo and Juliet, it is first necessary to have a strong grasp on the definition of irony. Irony tends to involve a difference in what seems to be true on the surface and what is actually true in reality, for example one thing being said in words, while another meaning than the obvious one is intended to be interpreted. There are four major types of irony that are usually used in literature, although there are other kinds of irony that may be used, that are verbal irony, dramatic irony, situational irony, and irony of fate.

These types of irony may be difficult to distinguish in some situations because they are very similar, and the same situation may appear to be different kinds of irony to different audience members. Additionally, multiple forms of irony may be at work in a single literary situation at the same time. While they are not as often considered to be literary methods, Socratic irony -- where one pretends to be ignorant but is actually informed on a subject -- may be the first type of irony understood.

Verbal irony occurs when a character or narrator in a story says something, but his words actually imply something different or suggests the opposite. The term verbal irony is often used interchangeably with the term sarcasm, but this is not quite accurate because sarcasm tends to be very obvious, straightforward, and often rudely delivered, while verbal irony is more subtle and not necessarily insulting. The most important thing about verbal irony is to understand that what is said is not what is meant, and a deeper interpretation is necessary.

Dramatic irony, unlike verbal irony, may include more than words in a story. This may also be known as tragic irony. Dramatic irony may also include a character's actions and plot events. While verbal irony involves a character saying one thing but intending another meaning because of what he knows, dramatic irony occurs when a character does not know everything that is happening. The audience may be aware of the reality of situation, while certain characters (or even the narrator) may be doing or saying things that show they are not aware of the full reality. In verbal irony situations, the character is aware of the difference between what he is saying and the reality, while he is not aware of this difference in dramatic irony situations.

Situational irony may be defines as when an action is taken in order to achieve an intended outcome, but the outcome of the situation turns out to be different or the opposite of what the character intended to have happen. For example, if a character were to ingest a medicine in order to cure himself of a disease, but instead the medicine turns out to be tainted and therefore kills the character, this would be situational irony, because the character intended for a different outcome to happen. (This would be dramatic irony if the audience already knew the medicine was tainted, but the character did not.) Another way situational irony can function is if something is ironic purely because it is taking place in a certain situation. Situational irony always involves a difference between the cause-and-effect relationship that would normally be expected, and the cause-and-effect that actually occurs, and the situation is somewhat beyond logical explanation. The circumstance may seem unfair or unfortunate for the character involved, or the other characters that are affected.

Irony of fate is the fourth type of irony that is commonly used in literature. Irony of fate is often used to make people question the fairness of God or Fate, and may make the universe itself appear to be a hostile or cruel force. An example of irony of fate might be if a good character finally has a fortunate experience, however that fortunate experience is followed by a tragic experience such as death, this is irony of fate because the character's fate to have the unfortunate event happen overcomes the fortunate event. The expectations of the audience turn out to… READ MORE

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