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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
Key Examples in Giovanni’s Room
Part 2: Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—David and Hella:
Hella’s return in Part 2, Chapter 4 threatens David’s “double-minded” life. Following through on his relationship with her requires David to conceal his gay identity, trapping him in a delicate—even unsustainable—balancing act. The tension is on full display in the dramatic irony that occurs after an awkward encounter with Giovanni and Jacques:
Hella sighed. ‘I didn’t mean to get your friends mad at you,’ she said. ‘You ought to go back and have a drink with them. You said you were going to.’
‘Well, I may, I may not. I’m not married to them, you now.’
‘Well, the fact that you’re going to be married to me doesn’t mean you have to break your word to your friends. It doesn’t even mean,’ she added, shortly, ‘that I have to like your friends.’
Related Themes:
