Analyzing and Interpreting Literature / Unit 4 AIL 0313 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Lexicon: Dramatic Irony
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The idea
Dramatic irony is a situation where the reader knows something a character does not, so the character acts in a way the reader sees as inappropriate. The glossary names Oedipus as the famous instance. This is a structural device, not a tone, and confusing the two loses marks.
In practice
The reader knows, the character does not.
Where people slip
Structure, not attitude.
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