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
Rappaccini’s Daughter
Explanation and Analysis—Baglioni's Jealousy:
After Baglioni warns Giovanni about Rappaccini’s immorality and his professional stature as a scientist, the narrator uses dramatic irony to foreshadow Baglioni's cruel machinations at the end of the story:
[Giovanni] might have taken Baglioni's opinions with many grains of allowance had he known that there was a professional warfare of long continuance between him and Dr. Rappaccini, in which the latter was generally thought to have gained the advantage. If the reader be inclined to judge for himself, we refer him to certain black-letter tracts on both sides.