What is dramatic irony?

Dramatic Irony, is mainly used in theatres or other types of media such as television shows or films. This is when the audience such as the viewers are aware of a certain piece of information this can be very crucial information however the characters in the play/show is unaware of this - thus they are left in the dark. An example would be if the audience in the play shout 'Don't enter the house' - the character is unaware of what is in the house and therefore doesn't suspect anything whilst the audience already knows what kind of dangers may lie in the house.

A literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy, by which the full significance of a character's words or actions is clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character.

Hi Justice,

In its simplest form - have you ever been to a pantomime at Christmas and the main character on stage can't see the person behind them and asks the audience where they are?

"They're behind you!" is the response from the audience and much hilarity is had when they turn around and the person hiding behind them moves out of sight.

This is dramatic irony. When the audience knows things about the story or the characters on stage that the characters do not.

Playwrights use this device a lot to get the audience to feel tension for the characters on stage.

Dramatic irony - where the audience knows something that the characters do not.

When the audience knows something the characters do not.

Dramatic irony is when the audience or reader are aware of the significance of something that the character is not. For example, in 'Macbeth' Lady Macbeth faints upon discovering King Duncan's death. However, we, as the audience, know that moments earlier she was smearing the guards in Duncan's blood! In this instance, this is important because it helps us understand how cunning and deceptive Lady Macbeth is.

Dramatic irony is when the audience of a play, or the reader of a story, knows something that a character in the play or the story, does not know. For example, a character may state, 'I'm really looking forward to getting back to my own house, and my own bed', after being away for two weeks. However, the reader knows that in his absence, his house has been burgled, and turned upside down. The reader knows that his optimism, looking forward to going home, is misplaced.

Dramatic Irony refers to when the audience know something that the characters don’t.

Dramatic irony is a literary device often used in plots of books, plays and films. It describes the situation where the audience (us, the reader) knows more information than some of the characters in the narrative. For example, in Little Red Riding Hood, the audience knows that Red’s “Grandma” is actually the wolf dressed up as her grandma. It created a sense of drama and suspense for the reader/ audience.

Dramatic irony occurs when the reader/ audience is aware of a situation that protagonist is not. An example is in Othello, as the audience is aware of Iago's deception, and Othello is not.

Dramatic irony is when the audience or readers know more about a situation than the characters.

A writer uses dramatic irony when the audience has some information that the characters in the work do not; it is often used to create humour or suspense.

Hi there, this is where the audience knows more than the character on the stage or screen. Remember going to the pantomime when you were young? You may have shouted at the hero to warn them - "He's behind you....." as the villain is quietly creeping up on them. The audience can see the evil villain but our helpless and hapless hero can't. That's dramatic irony!!

Dramatic irony is a storytelling feature where the audience is aware of something that a character is not. For example, the main character in the story may be talking to someone who they assume is telling the truth, but the audience knows that the other character is lying.

Dramatic irony is when in a play, book, movie/show (any text, really), the audience is presented with information that the characters themselves are not aware of. This, of course, can manifest in various ways, however a simple example would be a perpetrator entering a room and not knowing where their potential victim is - and the audience can see that they are hiding in the closet. Another example is the audience being aware that the Titanic is about to sink and has hit an iceberg significantly before the main characters are informed.

A situation. when the rearer or audience know more than the characters in the story.