...Kela Yard L6A1 English of Literatures – Drama Mr. King The Dramatic Irony in Twelfth Night Dramatic irony is a very important element of literature. The proper use of dramatic irony allows an audience to have a furthered understanding of characters, by allowing the audience to know things that the characters in the literature do not know. When used properly, this knowledge is used to create feelings of humour and suspense for an audience. Dramatic irony is therefore a very common literary element, and many famous authors and playwrights have used it to dramatize their works. Shakespeare for example, was known to use dramatic irony in many of his plays. The play “Twelfth Night” also known as what “What You Will” contains elements of dramatic irony which are used to create a very engaging and funny experience for the audience. He uses elements such as mistaken identity, separated twins, and gender crossing disguise. The afore mentioned elements therefore have a great impact on the amount of dramatic irony presented in the play. This dramatic irony contributes to the comedic effect of the play. The first example of dramatic irony disguise of Viola, who is saved after being shipwrecked by a captain who puts in to shore on Illyria. After learning that the captain knows the Duke of Illyria, Viola asks him to disguise her as a eunuch so that she may work for the Duke. In this disguise, that only the audience is aware of Viola is better able to perceive the true nature of the...
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...With Reference to Two or More Examples Discuss the Role of Dramatic Text in Performance The role of dramatic text in performance is not a question that has a simple, straightforward answer. A dramatic text is a text that has been written for it to be delivered by some form of media, for example theatre, film or television. A performance text on the other hand is a version of the dramatic text, which is what ultimately gets performed. Therefore, to put it simply, a performance text is a version of a dramatic text that has been annotated and altered for the actual performance. This complicates the role of dramatic text, as there can be various different performance texts just for one dramatic text. Therefore you have to question, after a certain period of time, if the performances turn further and further away from what the dramatic text is trying to convey? Considering William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, which is such an ‘iconic text of world theatre’ (Lavender, 5), you can compare the role of the dramatic text when it was first published and performed in around 1603 with performances leading up to the present day. This is something which doesn't only differ depending on what time period it is being performed or how renowned the text is but it differs from performance to performance mainly because of the various different concepts the directors have with this singular play. However, factors such as the set or audience can also have a considerable effect. Nevertheless...
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...fail to even realize it. It can be difficult to notice if you are not expecting it. Irony plays a great role in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Othello. Most of the irony in the play relates to the main villain in the play, Iago, who is motivated by his jealousy. Iago is jealous of Othello’s military success and Cassio being promoted to Othello’s lieutenant position instead of himself. Iago plans to take revenge against Othello by manipulating Cassio and Desdemona, who is Othello’s wife. Iago is a well respected character in the play, so he would not be suspected to be the culprit. He tries to fake an affair between Cassio and Desdemona that would surely be tragic for Othello. The...
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...Mickala Stewart 7th Period/ Gassett/ AP Lit Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is filled with many instances of irony, mainly dramatic. Dramatic irony is when a situation is understood by the reader or audience and not by the characters in the play. Examples can be found in the most famous plays by William Shakespeare. Throughout the play, dramatic irony is mainly displayed in the conversations between Torvald and Nora, with Torvald portraying the character that is “out of the loop.” Irony is sometimes made obvious to readers and sometimes you have to read a little deeper. For example, in the beginning of the play when Krogstad threatens to tell Nora’s secret, Nora tells him that it is her “pride and joy.” Its funny how her pride and joy is something that her husband would despise. Then later on in the play when Nora finally tells Torvald about the debt she owes, Torvald describes her as what used to be his “pride and joy” just as Nora described her secret. Another example would be when Torvald tells Nora “No debts! Never borrow! There’s something inhibited, something unpleasant about a home built on credit and borrowed money.” What Torvald doesn’t know is that the home he described, was his own. Nora, in fact, has borrowed a significant amount of money and is deeply indebted to Krogstad and because of Nora’s forgery he is also now living in that “home built on credit and borrowed money.” Nora feels very accomplished because she has borrowed money on her own. In that time period...
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...Romeo and Juliet, despite the fact that their families are enemies. Not only do secrets help develop characters and trust and relationships, but they also add dramatic irony, which both affects the plot and contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. Secrecy is necessary in Romeo and Juliet because revealing secrets could lead to disastrous consequences. As previously stated, secrecy is sometimes necessary. It’s necessary to keep a secret because secrets...
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...helped this play become so popular. Verbal irony is when the speaker says the opposite of what they mean. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows something that the characters don’t know. One theme or lesson you can take from this play is , “The course of true love never did run smooth” (1.1.134). https://www.shmoop.com/midsummer-nights-dream There are a lot of examples of dramatic irony in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. One example was when Titania fell in love with Bottom which was the man who turned into a donkey. “Fetch me that flower . . . . The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid will make man or woman madly dote upon the next live creature that it sees” (2.1.175- 178).https://www.shmoop.com/midsummer-nights-dream This shows...
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...Cornered in the Roundhouse “Irony is wasted on the stupid,” Oscar Wilde once said. This quote certainly applies to Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, because by carelessly reading this play, you might miss some of its genius. The author uses irony in many different ways to create different poignant emotions. Sometimes he makes a humorous little remark that might fly right over an unsuspecting head. Other times he puts his readers through pure agony as character’s fates are sealed before their eyes. True to form as a skilled author, Miller uses dramatic, verbal, and situational irony. In The Crucible, dramatic irony is used to create suspense in various situations. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows something that a character in the play does not know. When used correctly, it will significantly raise the tension of any given moment. This is exemplified by the following dialogue: ”Danforth: Answer my question! Is your husband a lecher! Elizabeth: No, sir.” (Act III). The audience knows that if Elizabeth just tells the truth, it will save her husband. However, without...
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...Dramatic Irony in Shakespeare’s Hamlet Dramatic irony is an important aspect of any play or written story. It allows insight to what the character is thinking or feeling, as well as adds to the interest of the play because the audience will know things that the characters on stage do not even know. That is what dramatic irony is, the knowledge of the audience without a character knowing; almost like an inside joke between a character and the audience. Dramatic irony can also be used to create further character development. For example, Hamlet leads many of the characters in the play to believe he is mad. This includes Polonius, Claudius, and Gertrude among those who believe his insanity. However, though Hamlet thinks he has everyone fooled, Marcellus and Horatio knew all along that he was pretending. This creates dramatic irony all on its own. An important bit of dramatic irony in the first two scenes is when Gertrude and Claudius believe that Hamlet is depressed only because of his father’s death. The King says “But, you must know, your father lost a father. That father lost, lost his, and the survivor bound in filial obligations for some term to do obsequious sorrow” (1.2.91-94). This piece of dramatic irony furthers the character of Gertrude and Claudius, they seem to be naïve in a way to think that Hamlet’s father’s death was the only thing depressing him. When in reality, it is Claudius’ marriage to Gertrude that is the real problem, though his father’s death does play...
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...The importance of play Young children’s play is directly or indirectly appointed to their experiments, activities, experiences and events. The essay illustrates the attitude of play in different perspectives and how they links to Te whariki. The comparison of Sri Lanka socio cultural perspective and one of New Zealand socio cultural perspective describes follows. In the summary, the learning outcome referring to examples will be talk about. The definitions of play have stated many theorists. During the 20th century, children’s plays have been closely observed by theorists. Play defines as playing and growing are parallel roads to life. Playfulness describes the child’s creativity and action. Through play a child acquire self reliance to represent of his inner and outer worlds. (Wood, & Attfield, 2005). That children “learn through play” is a concept that has established to show the importance of play. It is the belief that play is necessary for a healthy grow and development. Play literate states that children declare their current interests and needs through play activity. Children control the environment, materials to acquire skills to going after exploration and practice. (Piaget, 1962). Play provided an ideal way of observe children’s natural interests, behaviours and moods. The children learn when they are ready. It describes the importance of choice of a child, and that ready is to understand to adults that the child is ready to early learning. The essential...
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...and trying to write a play for the local theatre. However, Shakespeare is suffering from writer's block, and is seeking inspiration by having a muse. A muse is a power, in this case a female, used to inspire a poet. Of course, a love story proceeds. Although fictional, the real story line is the writing of "Romeo and Juliet" by Shakespeare. The story line is wonderful. In addition, there are very educational aspects to the movie, which focuses on theatre in the days of William Shakespeare. The theatre life is educational and the reflection of scenery in theatres of this time seems well depicted. The theatre life of these times is called Elizabethan. In the sixteenth century the most powerful form of literature or drama was non-religious and more concerned with the inner workings of the human personality. Shakespeare's writings were tragedies that focused on human actions without thought to the consequences of these actions. There are two examples in this movie that come to mind illustrating this humanistic approach. First, Shakespeare falls in love with Viola, his muse, and follows his heart knowing that she has already been promised to marry someone else. Second, is the theatrical representation of Romeo and Julie and the tragic love story it entails. The dramatic style and preparation of theatre in this movie is of the baroque style. The Baroque style is a period following the Renaissance, from 1600 to 1750, and is characterized by a dramatic expression and performances...
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...Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet is a play written by Shakespeare,where two teenagers in a rivaling feud between their families fall in love and keep their love a secret , which leads to their death.The play writer uses a range of literary devices, such as, soliloquies, dramatic irony, and allusions.These all help bring the play together. To begin, Shakespeare uses Soliloquies in many different occasions , like when Friar Lawrence is vocalizing the pleasant and the inadequate of both humans and plants.By using this device you get to know a characters thoughts and feelings on certain topics. Another example, is when, Juliet is contemplating on if she should or not drink the potion Friar has given her. She has doubts that the potion...
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...Oedipus Rex is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles. In this play, he developed dramatic irony to a high level. Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows the tragic truth before it disclose to the characters within the story. There are many examples of the irony in this play, which play the key role through the story. The main dramatic irony in this play is that everyone in the audience knows from the beginning of the play that Oedipus has killed his father and married his mother. In this play, Sophocles uses irony to create sense of sadness and agony in the audience. At the very beginning of the play, when Oedipus found out about the previous Thebes' king, Laios, he says, "I learned of him from others; I never saw him.” The very first irony that comes out to the audience is that Oedipus actually saw Laios when he killed him, and the worse feeling that audience experience is how sad it is that a son does not know anything about his father and knows a little from others. Another example of irony in this play comes when Oedipus announces, "Whoever killed King Laios might--who knows?--decide at any moment to kill me as well. By avenging the murdered king I protect myself." The irony is that Oedipus is the King killer, and now he wants to retaliate the king murderer to protect himself from the killer; how is that possible to kill the murderer and protect himself even though they are the same person. In that proclaim, he is very solicitous to find and punish the murderer...
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...How does Shakespeare make Act I scene i in Richard III significant and dramatic? | In the Shakespearian tragedy Richard III, Act I scene i is made a very significant and dramatic part of the play as it is the grand opening of the entire production, and is therefore used to introduce many of the fundamental ideas and begin to familiarise the audience with some of the main characters and their individual personalities. By the time of Act I scene i, the Battle of Tewkesbury between York and Lancaster has recently concluded, with the result of York as victors and having possession of the throne. Richard Duke of Gloucester is shown to have played a vital role in the victory at Tewkesbury- having been responsible for the death of Henry VI and Prince Edward (as revealed in Act I scene ii)-yet is denied the right of sovereignty by his elder brother, Edward. Richard reveals to the audience his feelings about this, and the apparent end of the war, through a soliloquy at the start of Act I scene i. After this, Richard proceeds to have an interaction with George, Duke of Clarence, who has been ordered to be taken to the tower for imprisonment by his brother, King Edward. There are three main ways that Shakespeare makes this scene significant and dramatic. Firstly, he reveals to us in the soliloquy that Richard has chosen to be a villain for the duration of the play, and gives us the reasons why. Shakespeare also shows to the audience Richard’s cunning and deceptive nature, by using Richard’s...
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...Dramatic Irony in hamlet and Trifles The plays Hamlet and Trifles have many aspects in which they can be linked together. One key aspect I will be linking between the two plays is their use of dramatic irony. Although Trifles is much shorter than Hamlet and is only one act long we can clearly see dramatic irony and how it is key to the stories. Dramatic irony is when the words and actions of the characters of a work of literature have a different meaning for the reader than they do for the characters. For example when Hamlet sees the ghost of his father. His father and former king of Denmark tells him to avenge his death. He tells Hamlet that the present king Claudius killed him to take the thrown. We as the audience know that Hamlets reasoning for almost everything he does is in spite of what the ghost said but the people in the story have not a clue of this. By act II, the audience knows that Claudius killed the former king. The ghost has told him so, sending Hamlet into frenzy. However, Claudius and the others, apart from Horatio, a special case, do not. Therefore, when Hamlet puts his antic disposition on Polonius, Claudius, and Ophelia, all believe that he is mad; their misunderstanding is an instance of dramatic irony: the audience knows he is not mad in the way they believe him to be. Dramatic irony can also be clearly seen in Trifles. Dramatic irony is one of many ways it directly links Trifles and Hamlet together. In Trifles we (the audience) know that the women in...
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...The Irony In Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream Irony is used in many productions to make it more interesting. Even Shakespeare used it, and he was a huge writer that affects us even today. Midsummer Night’s Dream has many examples of dramatic irony. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows a detail that the character doesn’t know and they are waiting for them to find out. It can be found in many works , including a Midsummer night’s Dream. One example is when Egeus doesn’t know the plan. He doesn’t have a clue that his daughter, Hermia, and Lysander are planning to run away together. “Tomorrow night . . . we plan to sneak out of athens” (Shakespeare 1.1.211). The audience knows the plan, but Egeus doesn’t. It is suspenseful on what his reaction will be when he finds out that the two ran away together, which is a thrill. It brings the audience in, anticipating what action will be taken....
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