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dramatic irony

Translation
dramatic irony
irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the play.
[1905-10]

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      in literature, a plot device in which the audience's or reader's knowledge of events or individuals surpasses that of the characters. The words and actions of the characters therefore take on a different meaning for the audience or reader than they have for the play's characters. This may happen when, for example, a character reacts in an inappropriate or foolish way or when a character lacks self-awareness and thus acts under false assumptions.

      The device abounds in works of tragedy. In the Oedipus cycle, for example, the audience knows that Oedipus's acts are tragic mistakes long before he recognizes his own errors. Later writers who mastered dramatic irony include William Shakespeare (Shakespeare, William) (as in Othello's trust of the treacherous Iago), Voltaire, Jonathan Swift (Swift, Jonathan), Henry Fielding (Fielding, Henry), Thomas Hardy (Hardy, Thomas), and Henry James (James, Henry). Dramatic irony can also be seen in such works as O. Henry (Henry, O.)'s short story “The Gift of the Magi.” In Anton Chekhov (Chekhov, Anton)'s story “Lady with the Dog,” an accomplished Don Juan engages in a routine flirtation only to find himself seduced into a passionate lifelong commitment to a woman who is no different from all the other number of women with whom he has flirted.

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Universalium. 2010.

  
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  • dramatic irony — noun Date: circa 1907 irony 3b …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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  • tragic irony — dramatic irony in tragic drama. [1825 35] * * * …   Universalium

  • Subtext — is content of a book, play, musical work, film, video game or television series which is not announced explicitly by the characters (or author) but is implicit or becomes something understood by the observer of the work as the production unfolds …   Wikipedia