• Alanis Morissette’s Ironic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v9yUVgr
mPY.
As you listen to the song and read the lyrics,
highlight what the singer describes as ironic,
write a definition of irony (in your own
words) and identify on the scale your
knowledge of Romeo and Juliet.
• What is dramatic irony and what role does it play
in Romeo and Juliet?
• How does dramatic irony affect character, plot
and audience?
• If the characters in Romeo and Juliet were privy
to the same information as the audience, would
the plot differ and would it still be an engaging
text?
The Bedford Glossary of Literary Terms defines Irony as:
A contradiction or incongruity between
appearance or expectation and reality.
The disparity may be manifested in a variety of
ways. A discrepancy may exist between what
someone says and what he or she actually
means, between what someone expects to
happen and what actually happens, or
between what appears to be true and what
actually is true.
(Murfin & Ray 2009, p. 251)
• The examples used by
Alanis Morissette can be
classified as situational
irony.
• Another common form of
irony is verbal irony.
Example: Mean Girls https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmSB
rmgdKts
In Pairs:
• Determine whether you
have examples of
situational or verbal irony.
• What makes them ironic?
• Try to come up with a few
good examples of
situational or verbal irony
from books, television,
movies, or your own life to
share with the class.
Dramatic irony occurs when the audience is privy to
knowledge greater than that of the character(s),
which could prevent a poor choice, expectation, or
action.
(Bedford Glossary 2009)
• In literature this often has severe consequences upon the
characters.
Can anybody think of an
example from Romeo and
Juliet???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nwLb9NHfIWw
Many examples of dramatic irony exist within
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet…
We will now explore dramatic irony within the text.
Group work…
After being put in small groups, start
working on the activity provided.
Prepare to report back to the class.
Before you leave…
On an exit card respond to the follow:
• What is dramatic irony (in your own
words) and how is it used within Romeo
and Juliet?
- Use an example from the text.
- You may want to use group and class discussions
as a starting point to elaborate on.