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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
Scene 6
Explanation and Analysis—Chaplain's War Forecast:
An instance of verbal irony occurs in Scene 6 when Mother Courage—trying to decide whether she should restock her supplies—asks the Chaplain whether he thinks the war will continue. The Chaplain makes a somewhat sarcastic argument for why war will continue indefinitely:
Well, I’d say there’s peace even in war, war has its islands of peace. For war satisfies all needs, even those of peace, [...] they’re provided for, or the war couldn’t keep going. In war—as in the very thick of peace—you can take a crap, and between one battle and the next there’s always a beer, and even on the march you can snatch a nap [...]. You have your leg shot off, and at first you raise quite an outcry as if it was something but soon you calm down or take a swig of brandy, and you end up hopping about, and the war is none the worse for your little misadventure. And can’t you be fruitful and multiply in the thick of slaughter—behind a barn or somewhere? Nothing can keep you from it very long in any event. [...]
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Scene 8
Explanation and Analysis—Eilif's Execution:
During Scene 8, in an instance of dramatic irony, Mother Courage misses saying a final goodbye to her son and doesn't know he's going to be executed. Soldiers bring Eilif to Mother Courage’s wagon so he can see his mother one last time before he is executed. The soldiers intend to execute Eilif because he attacked peasants and stole their cattle. He had enacted similar deeds in wartime and was praised for them. However, since a crowd of Lutherans announced the death of their King and the coming of peace, Eilif’s act of violence takes place in peacetime and therefore is a crime.
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Scene 11
Explanation and Analysis—Kattrin's Matyrdom:
In Scene 11, an instance of situational irony occurs. Kattrin, whom the peasants use as an excuse for inaction, becomes a martyr. Two peasants, after being threatened by Catholic soldiers, have the following conversation:
Unlock with LitCharts A+OLD PEASANT: But being that we’re alone with that cripple…
PEASANT WOMAN: There’s nothing we can do, is there?
OLD PEASANT: Nothing.
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