Dune: Irony 6 key examples

The following example from Book 1, Part 2 is the first instance of many instances of dramatic irony in the novel. This passage makes the reader aware of nefarious plots against the Atreides family—plots that Paul, Duke Leto, and Lady Jessica may be vaguely aware of, but are unable to completely elucidate or pin down. 

A chuckle sounded beside the globe. A basso voice rumbled out of the chuckle: “There it is, Piter—the biggest mantrap in all history. And the Duke’s headed into its jaws. Is it not a magnificent thing that I, the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, do?”

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In Book 1, Part 7, Duke Leto and Lady Jessica speak about the trials they will face in the future on Arrakis, now their home. The two share an intimate, yet situationally ironic, moment as the Duke speculates on his lover's beauty:

He stepped closer, touched her arm, admiring her stateliness. And again, he wondered at her unknown ancestry—a renegade House, perhaps? Some black-barred royalty? She looked more regal than the Emperor’s own blood.

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In the following example of situational irony from Book 1, Part 8, Jessica reflects on her conversation with Yueh, noting his evident distress in speaking with her:

Jessica dropped her arms, crossed to the hall door and stood there a moment, hesitating, then let herself out. All the time we talked he was hiding something, holding something back, she thought. To save my feelings, no doubt. He’s a good man. Again, she hesitated, almost turned back to confront Yueh and drag the hidden thing from him. But that would only shame him, frighten him to learn he’s so easily read. I should place more trust in my friends.

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Herbert includes epigraphs written by the Princess Irulan at the beginning of each chapter. These epigraphs often foreshadow or directly reference events that have not yet happened in the novel, that the characters, in their limited perspectives, are not yet aware of. This structure frequently results in a measure of dramatic irony in the text. Note the following example of this dramatic irony, from the Princess's epigraph at the beginning of Book 1, Part 16:

It is said that the Duke Leto blinded himself to the perils of Arrakis, that he walked heedlessly into the pit. Would it not be more likely to suggest he had lived so long in the presence of extreme danger he misjudged a change in its intensity? Or is it possible he deliberately sacrificed himself that his son might find a better life? All evidence indicates the Duke was a man not easily hoodwinked. 

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In the following example of situational irony from Book 1, Chapter 19, Lady Jessica and Paul contemplate their persecution and changing circumstances at the hands of the Harkonnens. The mother and son's exchange reveals just how rapidly living on Arrakis has altered their perspectives on other people and the surrounding environment. 

Paul leaped out to the sand and Jessica followed. She turned, reached under the seat for the strange bundle, seeing Czigo’s feet close to her face, feeling dampness on the bundle as she removed it, realizing the dampness was the pilot’s blood.
Waste of moisture, she thought, knowing that this was Arrakeen thinking.

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In the following example of verbal irony from Book 1, Part 22, Baron Harkonnen grates against the violent opinions of his mentat, Piter de Vries. One gets the sense from this exchange that de Vries and his employer don't exactly see eye-to-eye, nor have they cultivated a relationship based on respect. 

“Hot tallow on the back, perhaps, or on the eyelids,” Piter said. “Perhaps on other portions of the body. It’s especially effective when the subject doesn’t know where the tallow will fall next. It’s a good method and there’s a sort of beauty in the pattern of pus-white blisters on naked skin, eh, Baron?”
“Exquisite,” the Baron said, and his voice sounded sour.

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