It is often said that irony is the vital literary element to a story because it gives the story character. Whether it changes the mood, creates suspense, adds foreshadowing, engages the reader or something else, irony can do many things for a story.
In the short stories “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe and “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, irony is the main element used. Like many authors, these authors both use irony to their advantage. One story is about a hunter being hunted, an ironic twist, for a reason yet not stated. And the other is about a murder being committed using reverse psychology which takes place in a family catacomb with a fondness for wine ironically enabling the crime.
There are three main types of irony to familiarize yourself with: dramatic irony, situational irony, and verbal irony. Firstly, lets start off with situational irony. Situational irony occurs when the expected outcome does not happen. Situational irony is used in stories to add humorous effects. For example, in the Most Dangerous Game, when Zaroff, the man who hunts people for entertainment, tells Rainsford, the unwilling victim of Zaroff, “We’ll visit my training school… It’s in the cellar. I have about a dozen pupils down there right now” (PG). Basically, Zaroff is not referring to a training school, he is referring to a prison where he keeps his unwilling victims who will eventually be hunted. This quotation shows how dramatic irony affects the tone and the
Throughout analysis of Edger Alan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado” the readers are able to infer the intentions of the characters through Poe's use of irony. The character Montresor has been insulted by another character, Fortunato. As a result of Fortunato’s insult, Montresor vows to seek revenge on Fortunato by punishing him with impunity during the carnival season. To carry out his plot of revenge, Montresor creates a plan to sneakily rope Fortunato into examining a pipe of Amontillado because Montresor knows Fortunato prides himself on being a wine connoisseur. The Amontillado is supposedly located deep in Montresor's family vault which is where Montresor plans to bury Fortunato alive. Poe implements various examples of verbal irony throughout his story in order for the readers to see Montresor’s devious plan be carried out in a unique way.
Irony is a very big part of a story, because it can create new elements in a story. Some of these elements may include humor and theme. "The Ransom of Red Chief" is a great example for this.
Irony is a useful device for giving stories many unexpected twists and turns. In Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour," irony is used as an effective literary device. Situational irony is used to show the reader that what is expected to happen sometimes doesn't. Dramatic irony is used to clue the reader in on something that is happening that the characters in the story do not know about. Irony is used throughout Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" through the use of situational irony and the use of dramatic irony.
time to think about why he is chained and closed into a wall to die.
"Irony is a device that protects him (the artist) from the pain of his experience so that he may use it objectively in his art(Susquehanna. "New Critical")." In The Glass Menagerie, it is ironic how Tom speaks badly of his father and his leaving home but in the end he leaves home just like his father, the man "in love with long distances (Williams 30)''. The fact that Amanda wants what is best for her children is ironic because she worries so much over it that she doesn't realize what is best for them.
In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado,” it deals with how someone can turn a seemingly nice night into a horrible and tragic ending. Montresor lures an inebriated Fortunato to show him a rich wine. But in a twist, Montresor chains him up and suffocates him. It uses an exceptional amount of irony, verbal, situational, and dramatic irony. Edgar Allan Poe, author of “The Cask of Amontillado,” writes using three different variants of irony to create an eerie and suspenseful atmosphere within the plot.
It is Edgar Allan Poe's intense use of symbolism and irony throughout the Cask of Amontillado that establishes the short story as an indeed interesting candidate worthy of thorough analysis. The skillful use of these devices are utilized by the author to create this horrific and suspenseful masterpiece.
The Cask of Amontillado is about a man named Montresor who believes this other man named Fortunato insulted him. Montresor’s family motto is “no one insults me with impunity”, he feels justified in taking revenge on Fortunato. In the short story by Edgar Allen Poe, there are many examples of irony to convey Montresor’s crime, while using another layer of irony to undermine his revenge.
Authors use irony in literature in order to give double meanings and make it more interesting to the reader. In the play “ The Death of a Salesman” Arthur Miller uses irony as a strong writing technique in order to express the character's behavior. In “The Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller moments of situational and dramatic irony helps to illustrate the story's theme in which Willy is a man trying yo achieve the American dream, however he have created a world of illusion.
In the stories “Story of an Hour”, “Everyday Use”, “The Necklace”, and “The Lottery” it is evident that irony was quite a large part of the short story. There is situational irony, which is when the situation turns out differently than expected. Also, dramatic irony is present, which is when you as a reader knows more than the character. The authors seem to base their whole story around irony to surprise their readers.
“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is a story full of irony. Irony is defined as a literary technique in which what appears differs radically from what is actually the case. In addition, irony can be divided into three groups: dramatic, verbal, and situational. Dramatic irony is when the readers notice something before the characters do. Verbal irony is when the characters say something that differs significantly from what they really mean. Situational irony is when the actual result is different from what was initially expected. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe combines all of these ironies to tell the story and to construct the personalities of the characters in an entertaining way.
Irony is usually termed as a technique or way or presenting a topic with one meaning, not disclosing to the reader that a totally different thing has happened. For instance, one might say it is ironic to save up the money to buy your dream car and it sells minutes before you get there. In the mind of someone like Edgar Allan Poe, irony can take one a far deeper meaning. One piece of irony is the name of the victim, Fortunato. This is an Italian word suggesting good fortune. (Cummings, 2005) However, we know from the beginning of the story that his fortune is not good. The more one looks for it, sometimes the more minute the irony can be. Take the description of Fortunato:
Edgar Allen Poe is known for the various literary devices he uses in his works. One of the most famous devices he uses is symbolism. In many of his stories, including “The Masque of the Red Death,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe uses symbolism to further develop each story by the messages he writes between the lines. Symbolism is an important aspect of Poe’s many works, seeing as how it allows the readers to make connections within the stories. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe represents symbolism through the title of the short story, the outfit Fortunato wears, and the Montresor family motto and coat of arms.
Poe’s use of irony in “The Cask of Amontillado” is used in several different aspects in the story. In the article “Irony and The Cask of Amontillado,” Nevi says that
In the book Hamlet by Shakespeare, irony is used numerous times in order to give the reader insight on what is going on. As stated in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, irony is an action that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play. If this strategy were not included in this drama, it would take away the whole purpose. This play would consist of no suspense and would be extremely boring to the reader because the characters would know as much as the readers know. This allows for incite to what can happen in the future or what has happened in the past. The irony in this play ultimately revolves around Hamlet and his plan to achieve revenge with Claudius. From the play that Hamlet organizes