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Hyperbole
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
Irony
Explanation and Analysis—Eliza's Eccentricities:
Shaw creates extended dramatic irony by including the audience in the process of Eliza’s transformation. Three central characters—Eliza, Mr. Higgins, and Pickering—are allied in their attempt to trick members of high class society and help Eliza pass as one of them. Therefore, in multiple scenes, Eliza’s transformation, while clear to the audience, is being performed to other characters. Including the audience in this trickery has the effect of further investing them in Eliza. They watch her pretend to be high class, painstakingly adjusting her language and mannerisms in order to seem natural in a new environment. The audience’s perception of her is therefore informed by their knowledge of Pickering’s and Higgins’s involvement.
Related Themes:
Act 2
Explanation and Analysis—Higgins's Behavior:
In a scene in Act 2, Higgins’s lack of self-reflection creates a moment of dramatic irony. The audience’s perception of Higgins’s behavior does not match how he refers to himself. Mrs. Pearce tries to encourage Higgins to clean up his behavior around the house in order to set a better example for his new pupil Eliza, but Higgins is baffled by the implication that his behavior needs reigning in. After Mrs. Pearce exits, he communicates his confusion to Pickering, saying:
Unlock with LitCharts A+You know, Pickering, that woman has the most extraordinary ideas about me. Here I am, a shy diffident sort of man.
Related Themes:
