Irony and Deception as Literary Devices Part 1
Writers are always looking for ways to layer their stories, to give their
writing depth and
meaning and provide more than what can be gleaned on the surface. There are
plenty of plot devices that help writers to do this; however, two lesser known
ones are irony and deception.
Irony
in fiction occurs when the writer intentionally uses a different meaning to the
literal one in order to create a dramatic, comedic or emphatic effect. Such
meaning or intention will be clear to the reader, but some or all the characters(s)
will not be aware. It’s about creating different layered perspectives.
There
are three types of irony commonly used in fiction - dramatic, situational and
verbal.
Writers
use dramatic irony for different purposes and effects. It relies on the fact
that the reader knows something that the other characters do not. This affects
the way the reader reacts to the narrative. Sometimes none of the characters are
aware, or it may be just one or two that don’t know what’s about to happen. The
writer may want to increase mood and tension to make the reader feel the gravity
of an intense, unfolding situation, so the reader will be aware of a dangerous
situation about to happen to the main character, because the writer has implied
this in the preceding narrative, description or dialogue, but other characters
within that scene will not be aware, and the main character certainly won’t.
This
affects how the reader perceives the events – he or she will feel the suspense,
fear and drama as that character edges closer to impending danger. And that’s
the key to effective dramatic irony.
It’s the reaction and emotions that it provokes within the reader that
makes dramatic irony work, for example, Shakespeare achieves this with Romeo
and Juliet. Romeo commits suicide in the
belief that Juliet is dead, but we know she isn’t. There is a huge
misunderstanding and one character because one character believes something to
be true, but it actually isn’t.
Situational
irony happens when the writer presents a difference between what is expected to
happen in a situation and what actually happens. Expectation versus reality
creates an opposite effect, which means the outcome of a situation is
completely different to what the reader expects for example, in Coleridge's poem, The Rime of the
Ancient Mariner, the characters are surrounded by the ocean, while dying of
thirst, yet they cannot drink the salty seawater because it will make them sick.
Another example might be that a woman does her best to avoid her new cashmere
coat from getting wet or dirty – she dodges other people and dogs and avoids
contact with other objects. She even avoids the rain with an umbrella. Then, moments from her doorstep,
a car rushes by through a large puddle and showers her with dirty water.
Such
contradictions can heighten mood, tone or drama in certain scenes and it helps
to enrich and emphasise the story.
In
much the same way situational irony creates opposites, verbal irony is when a
character says something that is opposite to what the character means, or it’s
opposite the truth. Implied truth is contrasted with actual truth, so, for
instance, a character who is hiding her feelings about a situation might say in
a weary tone, ‘Well, isn’t this a lovely gathering?’
The
true meaning of this sentence will be clear to the reader, especially because
of the tone, but will not be clear to the other characters who believe she is making a nice
comment about a family get together.
Irony
is all about creating different perspectives, be them dramatic, verbal or
situational.
In
part 2 we’ll look deception and how writers manipulate the readers with lies,
falsehoods and red herrings.
Next
week: Irony and Deception as Literary Devices Part 2
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