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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
Key Examples in The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Part 4: Uncle Pio
Explanation and Analysis—Doña Maria and Uncle Pio:
In The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Wilder uses dramatic irony to communicate the literary fame that Doña Maria's letters will attain after her death. In one of her many letters to her daughter, Doña Clara, Doña Maria references Uncle Pio's humorous personality, writing that:
If he weren’t so disreputable I should make him my secretary. He could write all my letters for me and generations would rise up and call me witty.
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