The poem War Is Kind by Stephen Crane is ironic. He is saying war is kind, but yet the reader can see that war has not been kind to anyone. A person would think that with the title War Is Kind that the poem would reflect about the good aspects of war not “a field where a thousand corpses lie.” (11) The theme of this poem is war is not kind displayed by irony because Crane writes about how war is devastating despite his title. The use of literary devices helps set the tone and they help to create irony. One of the literary devices used is the repetition is when Crane says, “Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.” (1) The irony here is that the author is telling a maiden not to cry because “war is kind” (1) even though everyone knows war is
In a general sense, irony is a rhetorical device that is characterized by incongruity in the real situation and what is expected. The deliberate use of irony, especially in literary works and speeches, is used to emphasize a point. It is a language that in some of its forms understates facts, denies the contrary of the truth, or states the opposite of the truth. In all it’s forms, it elicits a similar effect to the audience. There
This is ironic because he is giving advice on how to write a story but he didn’t take his own advice. The last place of irony is when O’Brien says that this story was actually a love story. When most people think of death and war they think of sadness and tragedy. And these war stories, according to O’Brien, were love stories.
"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.
There are three principal sources of interest in narratives: suspense, mystery, and irony. In the narratives “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Ronald Dahl, irony is a primary source of interest. Irony is defined as a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result. In both of these cases, the use of irony by the authors greatens the impact the pieces have on their audience. In both “A Rose for Emily” and “Lamb to the Slaughter”, the authors have numerous pieces of irony throughout their respective stories; this use of irony creates a better reading experience for the reader.
In Document A the author claims that “ war is kind” as a use of irony. This shows emphasis on how unkind war is or can be. In Document A the author also claims that “ these men were born to drill and die”. This is ironic because none of the soldiers ever had the intention of going into war to die. Also in Dickinson’s poem (Because I Could Not stop for Death, Line 1-3) she describe show Death kindly stopped for her as a means of irony. This is ironic because most don’t see death as kind but due to the circumstances most people would have preferred death over the continues suffering of the war. Irony is an important style to use when protesting
In conclusion, irony plays a major in Mildred Taylor’s Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by providing the reader with characterization, setting the ambiance in the various chapters, and giving us a glimpse of the most predominant themes by having ironic situations regarding topics that were very important at the time. Irony with humor is used to signify a climax in the mood before the mood is shifted. Furthermore, irony characterizes by allowing readers to see how characters react to ironic stimuli. It truly is ironic how when the authors lie to us in their books, we love their books even
Writers use irony to protest war in many ways. When the author in The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien states “ Ted Lavender, who was scared, carried tranquilizers until he was shot…” This is ironic because Ted is scared of dying, and ironically he is the only one who is scared but also the only one to be shot. It protests war because Ted dies, and the reader assumes Ted used the tranquilizers as a pain killer, which is not healthy or good. Also in Kevin Powers story The Yellow Birds, Irony is used. In the story Powers states “ … You are a coward and, really, cowardice is what got you into this mess because you wanted to be a man… ” This is ironic because he is a coward trying to be a man, but no matter what he does he is a coward. The
The first indication of dramatic irony is in “Masque of the Red Death” when the black room with the blood red windows is described. This description creates a bad feeling about the room and the reader senses something bad will happen in that room. This idea is proven later when the Prince dies in that room. Another example of dramatic irony is demonstrated in “Terrible Things” when Bunting writes “‘We have come for any creature that is white,” the Terrible Things thundered. “There are no white creatures here but us”’(Bunting, Three). This quotation illustrates dramatic irony because the rabbits do not understand that the Terrible Things are there for them, but the reader has this realization. This alarms the readers and causes one to dread what will happen to the rabbits. One more example of how dramatic irony builds suspense in stories is in “The Lottery” when Tessie says “‘I think we ought to start over” Mrs. Hutchinson said… I tell you it wasn't fair… you didn't give him enough time. Everybody saw that’” (Jackson, Four). This quotation is a good example of dramatic irony because when Tessie started causing a scene the reader begins to suspect that she will be the one who is chosen. This is significant because her pleading adds to the audience's fear of not knowing what will happen to the person who is
The author of the story “Lamb to the Slaughter”, Roald Dahl, uses a significant amount of irony throughout the story. Dahl uses irony to make his story more appealing to the reader by keeping them engaged. An example of irony in the story is when Mary is six months pregnant and her husband expresses he is leaving her, so she murders him. The audience would have never seen this coming because the author expresses Mary’s feelings from the beginning of the story by saying, “She loved him for the way he sat loosely in a chair, for the way he came in the door or moved slowly across the room with long strides. She loved the intent, far look in his eyes when they rested on her, the funny shape of the mouth, and especially the way he remained silent about his tiredness, sitting still with himself until the whiskey had taken some of it away.” (Dahl 1-2). When Dahl shares Mary’s feelings, the reader concludes that Mary is an innocent, loving wife that truly loves her husband and would do absolutely anything for him. But when Mary murders him after he decides to leave, situational irony appears. This is an example of situational irony because the reader would never expect Mary to murder her husband, but the exact opposite occurs. Dahl also uses situational irony as an example of language. The language makes the story more intriguing and exciting. The situational irony is used in the story to shock the reader and to create the climax of the plot.
In the novel Night by Elie Wiesel, there is many forms of irony. Irony means, The expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite. There are 3 types of irony; verbal irony, situational irony, and dramatic irony. All 3 of these happen in the novel. Night is about Elie and his fathers experience in concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944-1945 at the height of the Holocaust.
I do not think that KV is telling us in this novel what it could be different.As I remember in the first chapter KV implies that there is nothing intelligent to mention about the massacre. The novel ending suggests that bird-talk plays a relevant role during the whole story because it is the only subject throughout the whole story that talks about war. By doing this, KV tries to make sense as anyone’s talk about war. Vonnegut maintains the silence about war on purpose and leaves it after the massacre. This way readers can have the feeling that the majority of characters do not care about war and massacre, except the bird. He implies that this subject is meaningless for people but ironically important for the bird. It is like if animals
The main example of irony is that Mrs. Strangeworth is sending letters vocalizing her opinions of evil and trying to warn her community. However, all that the letters do is create disruption and evidently, just more evil. Verbal irony occurs when Mrs. Strangeworth is speaking to Helen Crane and she makes the statement, “Nonsense. All babies are different. Some of them develop much more quickly than others.”
Priestley also uses dramatic irony is, as another dramatic device. He uses it in Arthur Birlings speeches when he talks about the war and the ‘Titanic’.
In this essay I will be comparing the two poems, ‘The Man He Killed’ by Thomas Hardy and ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen. ‘The Man He Killed’ is about a man who was in the war and is thinking about his memories in the war. The main part of his experience in the war that he is reminiscing is the killing that he committed and the majority of the poem is focused on that. Thomas Hardy did not go to war himself but it could be thought that he got the idea from a friends experience in the war. The poem is based on the Boer War. The message of the poem is that he was most probably very similar to the man he killed, as in not really knowing what they’re fighting for and why they’re there. ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ is about someone who is
Irony can be used in poetry to make a point, or to evoke a particular emotion or reaction. Sometimes it can be hard to identify, but can ultimately change the way you interpret a poem. Irony, in all its forms, has become an important literacy technique. You can see irony in one, two or all three forms throughout one single