In “Labyrinth”, David Bowie’s character, Jareth, the goblin king, was originally supposed to be a puppet, but instead decided to make him a human. In “Labyrinth” Jim Henson uses the literary device, irony, to create surprise in the viewer. One type of irony is verbal, which is a sentence a character says, but doesn’t mean. Dramatic irony is when we know something a character doesn’t. Lastly, situational irony is when something happens when you don’t expect. In general, there are three types of irony that authors use as a literary device to create the element of surprise.
Furthermore, there's verbal irony, when a character says something, but really means the opposite. For example, when Sarah tells Jareth, the Goblin King, "It's a piece of cake".
The first example of situational irony would be Fortunato’s name, which means fortunate in Italian, an ironic name for someone who is about to be left in the catacombs to die. Another example of irony is when Montresor says, “It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation” (Poe, 3). Obviously this is dramatic irony as Fortunato has no idea that Montresor is smiling because he will kill him rather than actually being happy to meet him. Also verbal irony is present when Montresor says,
Dramatic irony occurs where the readers knows something that a character or characters does not.
The Oxford Dictionary of English defines irony as a literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy, by which the full significance of a character 's words or actions is clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character. Irony― the difference between appearance and reality ―is a literary device evident throughout all literature as either situational irony, dramatic irony, or verbal irony. Surprising readers, situational irony contradicts the expected outcome of the story. For example, the audience of the Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling, expect that Harry Potter will defeat Voldemort, the evil lord, by killing him; however, they are thrown off guard when it is revealed that Harry Potter must allow Voldemort to kill
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 and foreshadowing are literary devices used in literature. Foreshadowing is when an element in the story is used to hint an event that will occur further along in the story. There are many different types of Irony. One of these is dramatic irony, which refers to when a character thinks something is true yet the audience know the actual truth of the situation. Another type of irony is
Irony is described by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “the incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result”. “Ransom of the Red Chief”, as short story written by O. Henry, is full of all types of irony. In this short story a boy, Johnny Dorset, is taken by two kidnappers, Sam and Bill. Ironically, by the end of the story it is the kidnappers who pay ransom to the father. In “Ransom of the Red Chief”, there are many examples of irony which help to enhance the story. Throughout this tale, there are multiple examples of situational, dramatic, and verbal irony.
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.
Irony, a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result. Throughout Night there is use of situational and verbal irony. This use of irony keeps the reader interested. The use of irony causes the reader to know things that the characters often are not aware of.
Irony is defined as “a literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy, by which the full significance of a character's words or actions are clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character:”(“Irony” Entry 3. Oxford Dictionary. November 5th, 2015, Web.) In literature, irony can be used to foreshadow situations about to occur. Irony is a literary technique that can be expressed in 3 different ways. There is Dramatic irony, Situational Irony, and Verbal Irony. Situational irony is defined as, “irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected.” ("situational-irony."(Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 05 Nov.
To begin, in Labyrinth they used the literary device of verbal irony. In this part of the movie Jim Henson used verbal irony when Hoggle had the peach and he said “I couldn't hurt the girl” yet Hoggle gave Sarah the poisonous peach anyways. This was verbal
When I first watched the Labyrinth it was like being in a movie. The Labyrinth is a great example of a literary device called irony to show surprise. There are three types of literary devices known as irony to show surprise and I am going to show you irony by using the movie Labyrinth by Jim Henson.
Verbal irony is when the speakers says one thing but means another, or saying something without realizing its significance. An example of verbal irony would be when Hester stands on the scaffold. Dimmesdale wants her to tell her sins. Dimmesdale tells her that her silence would only “add hypocrisy to sin.” This is ironic because he does not know how much hypocrisy his life will be.
Irony is most commonly used in dialogue to express sarcasm and humor, however it can also be applied to add depth to literature. Mary Shelley employs irony in Frankenstein to emphasize the truth and prompt her readers to question pivotal concepts. Her use of irony does not intended for humor, but instead, she utilizes ironic devices to enhance her overall themes and convey the unpredictable consequences of actions.
-Dramatic Irony is when the words and actions of the characters in a work of literature are known to the audience or reader, but they are not known to certain characters in the story. The reader or audience has a greater knowledge of many of the characters themselves.
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: