Ginger, a horse who becomes a close friend of Black Beauty, delivers one of the most memorable instances of verbal irony in this novel. Commenting to Sir Oliver on the use of blinkers—devices that restrict a horse's peripheral vision—Ginger sardonically remarks:
I should say [...] that these men, who are so wise, had better give orders that in future all foals should be born with their eyes set just in the middle of their foreheads, instead of on the side; they always think they can improve upon Nature and mend what God has made.
Ginger is stating here that if humans desired horses to only look straight ahead, they might as well "give orders" concerning the precise placement of horses' eyes. On its face, the statement appears silly; humans cannot literally dictate where horses' eyes are when they are born.
However, beneath this statement lies Ginger's critique of the use of blinkers. Using this verbal irony, she insinuates that just as it's absurd to think humans can order where a horse's eyes should look, it's equally unreasonable to expect horses not to experience fear or anxiety when their vision is limited by blinkers. Devices like these prevent horses from seeing anything that isn’t directly in front of them. However, while intended to keep horses focused, blinkers often exacerbate their anxiety. They can't see potential threats or distractions on their sides, but they can still hear all the sounds around them.
Ginger's ironic comment doesn’t only shed light on the impracticality of blinkers. It also emphasizes a broader theme of the novel: the frequent misunderstanding or disregard humans have for the natural instincts and needs of animals. Because the horses are presented as intelligent beings in this book, the idea that blinkers would prevent them from being spooked is made to seem impractical and demeaning. Ginger’s irony in this passage serves as a reminder of the often misguided ways animals were treated by their owners.
Dramatic irony is everywhere in Black Beauty. The author uses it to underscore the novel’s theme of misjudgment of animals by humans. Horses are thinking, feeling beings just as people are in this novel's world. The irony is ever-present because Black Beauty—though unable to communicate in human language—understands the conversations and actions of humans around him perfectly.
One notable instance of dramatic irony occurs when Black Beauty becomes aware that the groom Filcher is stealing his oats. Filcher makes a blanket statement criticizing horses, to which Black Beauty responds tartly:
‘Dumb beasts!’
Yes, we are, but if I could have spoken, I could have told my master where his oats went to.
The irony of Filcher's name becomes clear, here, as “filching” is another word for pilfering or thieving. Even though it’s clear to the reader that it’s him who is committing the crime, the other humans remain oblivious to his deceit. The narrator knows exactly what’s happening, but he’s rendered powerless in the face of this human trickery and his own lack of speech.
The term "dumb" in this context refers to the inability to speak. Because Black Beauty can’t speak human language, he is unable to convey what he knows about Filcher to his master. The people around Black Beauty mistakenly presume that he can't understand or grasp their actions and words. This recurring motif challenges the readers' preconceptions about horses' intelligence, pushing them to reflect on the possibility that animals have unrecognized or under-appreciated thoughts and feelings. Sewell paints a vivid portrait of animals' depth, awareness, and emotional complexity in these moments of dramatic irony.
