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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
Childhood: The Story of Don Achille, Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—Inventing the Word:
In Chapter 6 of "Childhood," Lila reveals her precocious ability to read and write fluently at six years old. Maestra Oliviero, the girls' teacher, calls in Nunzia to ask who taught Lila how to read. Lenù recounts the scene in which Oliviero tests Lila in front of the class, but Lenù does not remember the events exactly, rendering her a somewhat unreliable narrator:
She took a piece of chalk and wrote on the blackboard (now I don't remember what, I didn't yet know how to read: so I'm inventing the word) "sun." Then she asked Lila:
"Cerullo, what is written there?"
In a classroom a fascinated silence fell. Lila half smiled, almost a grimace, and flung herself sideways, against her deskmate, who was visibly irritated. Then she read in a sullen tone:
"Sun."
Related Themes:
Adolescence: The Story of the Shoes, Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—This Place To Get Books:
In Chapter 5 of "Adolescence," Lenù sees Lila duck into the elementary school on a Saturday. Lenù cannot think of an explanation for this, so she follows Lila to the library—but Lenù has never been there before and does not know what it is. This results in dramatic irony:
Unlock with LitCharts A+There was a large neon-lit room, whose walls were lined with shelves of old books. I counted a dozen adults, a lot of children. They would take down volumes, page through them, put them back, and choose one. Then they got in line in front of a desk [...]. What was [Lila] doing, she didn't go to school anymore, she loved shoes and old shoes, and yet, without saying anything to me, she came to this place to get books?
Related Themes:
