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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 Death of a Salesman
Irony
Explanation and Analysis—Willy's Failing Memory:
Death of a Salesman sets itself apart from other plays through its innovative use of flashback. The play continually circles back through time, creating a nonlinear narrative that disorients the audience and reinforces its tragic character. Willy’s sense of the past is crucial to grasping the full significance of the play’s real-time events.
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Act 1
Explanation and Analysis—Linda's Faithfulness:
Willy’s wife, Linda, creates pathos (appeals to the audience's emotions) through her unwavering devotion to her husband, evoking sympathy for Willy and, in the process, herself. When Biff yells at his mother to “stop making excuses” for Willy’s behavior in Act 1, she rallies to her husband’s defense:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I don’t say he’s a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest character that’s ever lived. But he’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him.
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Act 2
Explanation and Analysis—Willy's Delusion:
One of the play’s many ironies is Willy’s unraveling mind. The audience is aware of Willy’s deteriorating mind, even though he himself is not, and this gap in understanding is an example of pathos: it appeals to the audience's emotions and cultivates sympathy toward the aging salesman. Willy’s fraying memory announces itself early in Act 1, when he first addresses his sons and wife from the past. Repeated flashbacks—he speaks to his deceased brother Ben, Bernard, and Charley—affirm his crumbling sanity and evoke the reader’s pity.
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