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Definition of Dramatic Irony
Dramatic irony is a plot device often used in theater, literature, film, and television to highlight the difference between a character's understanding of a given situation, and that of the... read full definition
Dramatic irony is a plot device often used in theater, literature, film, and television to highlight the difference between a character's understanding of a given... read full definition
Dramatic irony is a plot device often used in theater, literature, film, and television to highlight the difference between a... read full definition
Dramatic Irony
Explanation and Analysis—Risking Death for Water:
The dramatic irony at the heart of “A Mystery of Heroism” is the fact that Collins decides to risk being killed in a violent battle in order to collect water from a well in the middle of the chaos, when his thirst is not dire and he doesn’t need to take such a risk. The irony comes across in the following passage, after Collins has asked his superior—a colonel sheltering with him and the rest of the infantry away from the battle—for permission to go to the well:
The colonel was watching Collins’s face. “Look here, my lad,” he said, in a pious sort of voice—“look here, my lad”—Collins was not a lad—“don’t you think that’s taking pretty big risks for a little drink of water?”
“I dunno,” said Collins uncomfortably. Some of the resentment toward his companions, which perhaps had forced him into this affair, was beginning to fade. “I dunno wether ’tis.”
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