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Imagery
Definition of Irony
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
Key Examples in Crime and Punishment
Part 1, Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Condemned to Death:
The narrator uses a simile that compares Raskolnikov to a man who has been condemned to death at the end of an important scene in which he decides to murder an elderly pawnbroker. The fact that he feels condemned to death even though he has decided to kill someone else is situationally ironic:
It was only a few more steps to his place. He walked in like a man condemned to death. He was not reasoning about anything, and was totally unable to reason; but he suddenly felt with his whole being that he no longer had any freedom either of mind or of will, and that everything had been suddenly and definitively decided. Of course, even if he had waited years on end for a good opportunity, having his design in mind, he could not have counted with certainty on a more obvious step towards the success of this design than the one that had suddenly presented itself now.
Related Themes:
Part 4, Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—Wicked Thoughts:
In a scene that exemplifies dramatic irony, the Man From Under the Ground appears at Raskolnikov’s apartment to apologize for accusing him of murder, a crime that Raskolnikov is in fact guilty of. Having previously arrived at the apartment in order to confirm his suspicions, the Man from Under the Ground feels deeply ashamed when another man confesses to the crime:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“I am guilty,” the man said softly.
“Of what?”
“Of wicked thoughts.”
The two stood looking at each other.
“I felt bad. When you came that time, maybe under the influence, and told the caretakers to go to the precinct, and asked about blood, I felt bad because it all came to nothing, and you were taken for drunk. And I felt so bad that I lost my sleep. And, remembering the address, we came here yesterday and asked…”
“Who came?” Raskolnikov interrupted, instantly beginning to recall.
“Me, I came, I wronged you.”
Part 6, Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Political Conspirator :
In a scene saturated with dramatic irony, Razumikhin reaches the false conclusion that Raskolnikov is a political agitator or revolutionary who has gotten into trouble and possibly implicated Dunya. After speaking with Raskolnikov in his apartment, Razumikhin reflects upon the source of his friend’s agitation:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“He’s a political conspirator, he is, for sure, for sure!” Razumikhin decided to himself finally, as he slowly went down the stairs. “And he’s drawn his sister into it; that’s very, very likely, given Avdotya Romanovna’s character. They’ve started meeting together…And she, too, dropped me a hint. It all comes out precisely that way, from many of her words…and phrases…and hints! And how else can all this tangle be explained? Hm! And I almost thought [...] Pah! What a nasty, crude, mean thought on my part! Good boy, Mikolka, for confessing…And all the earlier things are explained now!
