Irony in Romeo and Juliet

Definition

 you expect one thing to happen,

but the unexpected happens
instead
 3 types
~Situational
~Dramatic
~Verbal
Verbal Irony

a character says one thing and

means the opposite

Ex.) A girl has been bothering her boyfriend to

ask her to prom. When he finally does ask,
she says, “What a surprise”.
Ex.) You get an ugly shirt for Christmas and say,
“Oh, you shouldn’t have.
Situational Irony

 an event occurs that directly

contradicts the expectations of the
characters or reader

Ex.) The firehouse burns down.

The police station was robbed.
The teacher failed the test.
The student that didn’t study passed the test.
The marriage counselor gets a divorce.
Dramatic Irony

 theaudience knows something the

characters do not

ex.) The audience knows that the girl

Romeo is attracted to at the party is a
Capulet. Romeo doesn’t know that.
Example

Lord Capulet and Paris think that Juliet is

weeping for her dead cousin Tybalt,
and that marrying Paris sooner rather
than later is just the cure for her
sadness. This is an example of…

Dramatic irony: the audience knows the

real reason why Juliet is crying: Romeo
has been banished.
Example

 Romeo returns to Verona. He find Juliet

drugged, in a death-like sleep. He
assumes she is dead and kills himself.
This is an example of…

 Dramatic irony: the audience knows the

truth – Juliet is not dead, she is just in a
deep sleep.
Example

 Romeo and Juliet plan to spend eternity

together – just as the stars in the
heavens. They do spend eternity
together. It's just not the way the
audience hoped. This is an example of
…
 Situational irony: they will be together
forever, but because they are dead.
Example

Consider the opening lines of the prologue:

“Two households, both alike in dignity.”
This is an example of …

 Verbal irony: the audience realizes that

each family is violently competitive –
they are actually undignified.