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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 Emperor Jones
Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—Silver Bullet:
During Scene 1, Jones and Smithers reflect on how Jones came to occupy the position of Emperor on the island through “bloomin’ luck” and trickery. In doing so, the pair reveal the fact that Jones’s claim to imperial power relies entirely on his subjects’ ignorance, in an example of dramatic irony:
Smithers: You said yer’d got a charm so’s no lead bullet’d kill yer. You was so strong only a silver bullet could kill yer, you told ’em. Blimey, wasn’t that swank for yer—and plain, fat-’eaded luck?
Jones [Proudly] : I got brains and I uses ’em quick. Dat ain’t luck.
Smithers: Yer know they wasn’t ’ardly liable to get no silver bullets. And it was luck ’e didn’t ’it you that time.
Jones [Laughing]: And dere all dem fool, bush n----rs was kneelin’ down and bumpin’ deir heads on de ground like I was a miracle out o’ de Bible. Oh Lawd, from dat time on I has dem all eatin’ out of my hand.
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