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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
Act III
Explanation and Analysis—A Married Woman:
Over the course of the third act, the underlying dramatic irony increases, which builds towards the play's climax. The men, sitting around talking in Lord Darlington's rooms, have no idea that Lady Windermere and Mrs. Erlynne are in the room with them, hidden from view.
Lord Darlington provides another source of dramatic irony when he begins to talk about the woman he loves. While the audience knows that Lord Darlington is talking about Lady Windermere, Lord Windermere has no idea. She is present for the whole conversation, and is one of the only characters who knows—from the start—who Lord Darlington is talking about.
LORD DARLINGTON The woman I love is not free, or thinks she isn’t. (Glances instinctively at Lord Windermere while he speaks)
CECIL GRAHAM A married woman, then! Well, there’s nothing in the world like the devotion of a married woman. It’s a thing no married man knows anything about.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Brink:
Throughout the play, characters consistently use the same figurative language to describe female ruin. Mrs. Erlynne, who has been through it herself, especially uses words like brink, precipice, abyss, pit, and falling to describe what happens when a woman leaves her husband. Degradation as a depth and shame as a pit return repeatedly as motifs.
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Related Themes:
Act IV
Explanation and Analysis—Wonderful Chance:
After a steady stream of hints over the course of the first three acts, the audience has no doubt regarding the nature of the relationship between Lady Windermere and Mrs. Erlynne by the fourth act. Lady Windermere, however, remains in the dark. This produces an underlying dramatic irony, which is accentuated when the two women discuss their shared first name. Whereas Mrs. Erlynne knows the origin of this commonality, Lady Windermere believes it's a remarkable coincidence.
The supposed coincidence comes up when they discuss the name of Lady Windermere's baby, who she named after her father. She adds that if the baby had been a girl, she would've named it after her mother.
Unlock with LitCharts A+LADY WINDERMERE My mother had the same name as myself, Margaret.
MRS ERLYNNE My name is Margaret too.
LADY WINDERMERE Indeed!
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Brink:
Throughout the play, characters consistently use the same figurative language to describe female ruin. Mrs. Erlynne, who has been through it herself, especially uses words like brink, precipice, abyss, pit, and falling to describe what happens when a woman leaves her husband. Degradation as a depth and shame as a pit return repeatedly as motifs.
Unlock with LitCharts A+
Related Themes:
