Previous
Allusions
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 Henry IV Part 1
Act 2, Scene 4
Explanation and Analysis—Four Rogues:
In a comedic scene suffused with dramatic irony, Falstaff presents a highly distorted version of recent events depicted in the play. Poins, a companion of Prince Hal, earlier devised a scheme to embarrass Falstaff. After giving Falstaff directions to rob some traveling Christian pilgrims, he and Prince Hal don disguises and then rob Falstaff of his ill-gotten gains. After Poins’s plan has been completed, he, Hal, and Falstaff watch in amusement as Falstaff spins a web of outrageous lies:
FALSTAFF: Nay, that’s past praying for. I have peppered
two of them. Two I am sure I have paid, two rogues
in buckram suits. I tell thee what, Hal, if I tell thee a
lie, spit in my face, call me horse. Thou knowest my
old ward. Here I lay, and thus I bore my point. Four
rogues in buckram let drive at me.PRINCE: What, four? Thou said’st but two even now.
FALSTAFF: Four, Hal, I told thee four.
POINS: Ay, ay, he said four.
FALSTFF: These four came all afront, and mainly
thrust at me. I made me no more ado, but took all
their seven points in my target, thus.PRINCE: Seven? Why there were but four even now.
