Irony and Romeo and Juliet

Irony and Romeo and Juliet

In order to understand how irony can contribute to the understanding of a piece of literature, such as Romeo and Juliet, it is first necessary to have a strong grasp on the definition of irony. Irony tends to involve a difference in what seems to be true on the surface and what is actually true in reality, for example one thing being said in words, while another meaning than the obvious one is intended to be interpreted. There are four major types of irony that are usually used in literature, although there are other kinds of irony that may be used, that are verbal irony, dramatic irony, situational irony, and irony of fate.

These types of irony may be difficult to distinguish in some situations because they are very similar, and the same situation may appear to be different kinds of irony to different audience members. Additionally, multiple forms of irony may be at work in a single literary situation at the same time. While they are not as often considered to be literary methods, Socratic irony -- where one pretends to be ignorant but is actually informed on a subject -- may be the first type of irony understood.

Verbal irony occurs when a character or narrator in a story says something, but his words actually imply something different or suggests the opposite. The term verbal irony is often used interchangeably with the term sarcasm, but this is not quite accurate because sarcasm tends to be very obvious, straightforward, and often rudely delivered, while verbal irony is more subtle and not necessarily insulting. The most important thing about verbal irony is to understand that what is said is not what is meant, and a deeper interpretation is necessary.

Dramatic irony, unlike verbal irony, may include more than words in a story. This may also be known as tragic irony. Dramatic irony may also include a character's actions and plot events. While verbal irony involves a character saying one thing but intending another meaning because of what he knows, dramatic irony occurs when a character does not know everything that is happening. The audience may be aware of the reality of situation, while certain characters (or even the narrator) may be doing or saying things that show they are not aware of the full reality. In verbal irony situations, the character is aware of the difference between what he is saying and the reality, while he is not aware of this difference in dramatic irony situations.

Situational irony may be defines as when an action is taken in order to achieve an intended outcome, but the outcome of the situation turns out to be different or the opposite of what the character intended to have happen. For example, if a character were to ingest a medicine in order to cure himself of a disease, but instead the medicine turns out to be tainted and therefore kills the character, this would be situational irony, because the character intended for a different outcome to happen. (This would be dramatic irony if the audience already knew the medicine was tainted, but the character did not.) Another way situational irony can function is if something is ironic purely because it is taking place in a certain situation. Situational irony always involves a difference between the cause-and-effect relationship that would normally be expected, and the cause-and-effect that actually occurs, and the situation is somewhat beyond logical explanation. The circumstance may seem unfair or unfortunate for the character involved, or the other characters that are affected.

Irony of fate is the fourth type of irony that is commonly used in literature. Irony of fate is often used to make people question the fairness of God or Fate, and may make the universe itself appear to be a hostile or cruel force. An example of irony of fate might be if a good character finally has a fortunate experience, however that fortunate experience is followed by a tragic experience such as death, this is irony of fate because the character's fate to have the unfortunate event happen overcomes the fortunate event. The expectations of the audience turn out to be wrong when this type of fate comes into play. This is, in a way, a type of situational irony, however it occurs on a scale that implies fate is involved; the ironic incident is caused by an "act of god" not by something the character set into motion. The author of a piece of literature may distinguish irony of fate from situational irony by blatantly stating that the work is about inescapable fate.

Many instances of verbal irony can be traced throughout Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The very basic plot line is full of rather obvious cases of irony Romeo falls in love with Juliet while he is mourning the unrequited love he felt for another woman. Juliet falls in love with Romeo despite the fact that she was taught to hate him by her family. Romeo and Juliet get married to one another so that they can spend their lives together, but they are separated almost immediately upon getting married. When the tragic ending occurs, it is also ironic that Juliet is willing to risk actually dying in order to fake her death to have the chance to be with Romeo, then Romeo kills himself in order to be with Juliet in death even though she is not really dead, and then finally Juliet kills herself to be with Romeo, who would not be dead if he had not thought she was already dead. In addition, Friar Lawrence married Romeo and Juliet so that the fighting would end between the two families, however the fighting is ended by the death of the children, not the marriage.

Other irony is more thinly veiled throughout the play. When Shakespeare describes the two households as "alike in dignity" (Act I, Prologue), he is using verbal irony because what is meant is that these households are both undignified, and they are like each other for that reason, not that they are both dignified.