 What should I understand about irony? What the three types of irony are and be able to recognize when they are being used and explain why.  Why should I know this? Perhaps the most important function of irony to people today, is its use to expose the truth. It is the only way things can be expressed without using direct speech or direct action. It is a form of sending a message without saying the message, something which can be very powerful. Politicians and political writers often use irony in their work. By comparing an ironic event to something which they are truly referring to, they hope that people will see the irony in an example they produce, and their audience is able to relate this to the real issue the politicians are trying to emphasize.

 Involves a contrast between what is stated and what is meant, or between what is expected and what actually happens.

 Verbal Irony  Dramatic Irony  Situational Irony

 A speaker or writer says one thing but actually means the opposite.  Examples: You are being forced to go on a family vacation when you would rather go on a road trip with your friends. Your response to your parents about the vacation is “Oh, I can’t wait to spend all this family time together.” This IS what your parents would want you to say (and mean it), but you mean the complete opposite. Your mom walks into your filthy bedroom and says, “I see you’ve cleaned your room!” (Many times sarcasm falls under Verbal Irony)

Example:  You are reading a book and the character parks their car next to a red curb (you know this because the author informs you, the reader). The character gets out of the car and walks into their work building without noticing that they parked next to a red curb. We, the reader, know that the character will probably get a ticket or their car towed. (To make it even more ‘dramatic’, the character ended up getting fired that day, and came out to find that their car had been towed!).  Romeo believes Juliet is dead, but the audience knows that she has only been given a potion to sleep.  Occurs when the audience or the reader is aware of something that a character in a literary work does not know.

 Occurs when the outcome of an action or situation is very different from what one expects. (This can apply to both character and reader!)  Example: The character (and readers) know that in order for them to pass their class (and in turn graduate) they must pass their last final. They already have plans after they graduate of moving 10 hours away and have their bags packed and ready to go. The character pulls an “all nighter” and he (and the readers) feels confident that they will pass the final. When they get their test score back, they find out that they failed…and they do not graduate…and cannot move. A thief’s house was broken into at the same time he was robbing someone’s house.

 Pass out Irony Worksheet  Do not cover the rest of the slides until the Irony WS has been completed.

 One of the most powerful elements of The Crucible is Miller’s use of irony. There are several examples of irony in Act 3 of The Crucible.  The following slides have examples of irony from Act 3. You need to be able to list which type of irony is being used and explain why.  Get out a NEW piece of paper!

 Danforth states that “the pure in heart need no lawyers”. He is suggesting that truth always prevails in court.  Which type of irony is this? Why? Dramatic Irony - We (the reader) have already seen innocent people condemned in his court (however, they don’t know that those people were innocent). Verbal Irony- He is saying one thing (all are innocent in court if they are pure at heart), but realistically his actions state something different (he has condemned innocent/pure at heart to their death for witchery that they did not commit).

 Danforth states that there is no need for lawyers in this case because there is no evidence that proves that a person is a witch except for the statements from the victims.  Which type of irony is this? Why? Dramatic Irony - We the reader know that the ‘victims’ are lying and accusing people of witchcraft. However, Danforth (and many other characters) truly believe that the girls (‘victims’) are telling the truth.

 Danforth sits the girls down and tells them that they need to either confess that they themselves are lying, or state that Mary Warren is lying about pretending to see spirits.  Which type of irony is this? Why? Dramatic Irony – We (the reader) know that the girls are lying and that Mary Warren is in fact telling the truth. However, the girls state that Mary Warren is lying to save themselves from getting in trouble. Danforth and everyone else (except for Mary Warren, Proctor, and the girls) thinks that they are telling the truth.

 Danforth asks Abigail if she had been lying and falsely accusing people of witchcraft. She takes the stance of a ‘victim’ and replies, “I have been hurt, Mr. Danforth; I have seen my blood runnin’ out! I have been near to murdered every day because I done my duty pointing out the Devil’s people – and this is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied, questioned …”  Which type of irony is this? Why? Verbal Irony – Abigail is stating that she is a ‘victim’ but she’s really the accuser and guilty one about lying. Dramatic Iron – We (the reader) know that she has been lying, but Danforth believes that she has been telling the truth.

 Elizabeth believes that to defend her husband and save his ‘reputation’ in town she must lie to Danforth about his affair with Abigail.  Which type of irony is this? Why? Dramatic Irony – We (the reader) know that Proctor has already confessed and that in order to actually defend her husband and save his ‘reputation’ in town she must tell the truth about John Proctor and Abigail. Situational – Based on what we already know of her character (She cannot lie, according to Proctor) we don’t expect her to lie to Danforth.

 Danforth, Hathorne, Putnam and Cheever all act in shock when the girls start screaming and pointing at the “little yellow bird”.  Which type of irony is this? Why? Dramatic Irony - We (the reader) know that the girls are pretending, but they do not.

 John was trying to discredit Abigail by publicly admitting his affair with her. He wanted to show that she is a liar and not as innocent as she pretends to be. (Does this work?)  Which type of irony is this? Why? Situational Irony – We (the reader) did not see this ending coming for John Proctor. Proctor is put in jail because Mary Warren retracts her deposition and states (lies) that Proctor has been trying to get her to ‘sign the book’ of the devil at night. This in turn puts Proctor in jail because he’s working with the devil! (Wow! Didn’t see that one coming! We thought that he would have just been shunned from the community for his actions with Abigail.)

 The Puritans were trying to ‘purify’ the world and their community with the ‘witch hunts of Salem’ in 1692…but later find out it was all for nothing.  Which type of irony is this? Why? Situational Irony – The people of Salem thought that they were doing something logical/good. However, they later find out that their actions were actually killing innocent people.