What is dramatic irony?

A technique in literature whereby the audience or reader is made aware of something in that text that other characters are not. For example, when Romeo thinks Juliet is dead but we, the audience, know she has merely taken a sleeping potion.

A technique often used in theatre or other media, also sometimes in print. The main feature of such is that the 'audience', reader or consumer is made to know more of what is happening than the character.

Dramatic irony is a literary tool (often used in theatre, but also seen in other forms of literature), wherein the audience is aware of something that the characters are not. This may create tension, suspense or even humour in some cases.

When the audience know something that the character are not aware of.

Dramatic irony is a dramatic technique where the audience is well aware of a fact that the character doesn't. For example, in the play An Inspector Calls, Mr Birling refers to the Titanic as 'unsinkable,' which is an inaccurate statement.

A literary technique when the audience/reader know something that the characters do not.

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''.