The Hound of the Baskervilles
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Hound of the Baskervilles: Irony 1 key example

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
Chapter 9 
Explanation and Analysis—The Man on the Tor:

Doyle first sets up an instance of situational irony—overturning audience expectations—in Chapter 9 when Watson, writing to Holmes, describes seeing a mysterious figure on the Tor:

There, outlined as black as an ebony statue on that shining background, I saw the figure of a man upon the tor. Do not think that it was a delusion, Holmes. I assure you that I have never in my life seen anything more clearly. As far as I could judge, the figure was that of a tall, thin man. He stood with his legs a little separated, his arms folded, his head bowed, as if he were brooding over that enormous wilderness of peat and granite which lay behind him.

Chapter 11
Explanation and Analysis—The Man on the Tor:

Doyle first sets up an instance of situational irony—overturning audience expectations—in Chapter 9 when Watson, writing to Holmes, describes seeing a mysterious figure on the Tor:

There, outlined as black as an ebony statue on that shining background, I saw the figure of a man upon the tor. Do not think that it was a delusion, Holmes. I assure you that I have never in my life seen anything more clearly. As far as I could judge, the figure was that of a tall, thin man. He stood with his legs a little separated, his arms folded, his head bowed, as if he were brooding over that enormous wilderness of peat and granite which lay behind him.

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Chapter 12
Explanation and Analysis—The Man on the Tor:

Doyle first sets up an instance of situational irony—overturning audience expectations—in Chapter 9 when Watson, writing to Holmes, describes seeing a mysterious figure on the Tor:

There, outlined as black as an ebony statue on that shining background, I saw the figure of a man upon the tor. Do not think that it was a delusion, Holmes. I assure you that I have never in my life seen anything more clearly. As far as I could judge, the figure was that of a tall, thin man. He stood with his legs a little separated, his arms folded, his head bowed, as if he were brooding over that enormous wilderness of peat and granite which lay behind him.

Unlock with LitCharts A+