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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—Impudence :
Dramatic irony is a key device used in She Stoops to Conquer, with much of the play’s comedy generated by the gap between what the characters know and what the audience knows. This is most clearly exemplified in Tony’s trickery of Marlow, in which Tony leads Marlow to believe that the Hardcastles’ house is an inn and that Mr Hardcastle is the innkeeper. While the audience knows this is not true, Marlow’s ignorance of the fact that he has been deliberately deceived creates heavy dramatic irony.
Related Themes:
Act 3
Explanation and Analysis—Hypocrisy:
Goldsmith repeatedly uses satire in She Stoops to Conquer by poking fun at the characters in a way that mocks contemporary society and its follies. However, the intentional relatability of the characters, with the play taking domestic, everyday life for its subject matter, means this satire is double-edged, with Goldsmith simultaneously poking fun at his own audience. In this way, Goldsmith cleverly unveils society’s central hypocrisy, meaning that when the audience laughs at the characters, they're admitting their own follies, too.
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Related Themes:
Act 4
Explanation and Analysis—Constance and Tony :
Constance and Tony use hyperbole in their flirting in front of Mrs Hardcastle to mock sentimental romantic cliches and to emphasize the fact that their flirting is a pretense. In this way, Goldsmith uses hyperbole in conjunction with dramatic irony to create comedy, with the audience knowing Tony and Constance are not in love while Mrs Hardcastle believes they are. In Act 4, just as Tony and Constance are discussing their plans to ensure Constance can run away with Hastings, Mrs Hardcastle enters:
Unlock with LitCharts A+MISS NEVILLE. Agreeable cousin! Who can help admiring that natural humour, that pleasant, broad, red, thoughtless (patting his cheek)—ah! it’s a bold face.
MRS. HARDCASTLE. Pretty innocence!
TONY. I’m sure I always loved cousin Con.’s hazle eyes, and her pretty long fingers, that she twists this way and that over the haspicholls, like a parcel of bobbins.
MRS. HARDCASTLE. Ah! he would charm the bird from the tree.
Related Themes:
