Previous
Dialect
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
Chapter 14
Explanation and Analysis—Linguistic Subterfuge:
In Chapter 14, as the band of travelers sneaks through the forest, Hawkeye tells Duncan about his experiences fighting against the French in the Seven Years' War. They are interrupted by a French soldier who asks them who they are; dramatic irony ensues as Duncan uses his French skills to deceive the soldier:
“Etes-vous officier du roi?”
“Sans doute, mon camarade; me prends-tu pour un provincial! Je suis capitaine de chasseurs (Heyward well knew that the other was of a regiment in the line); j’ai ici, avec moi, les filles du commandant de la fortification. Aha! tu en as entendu parler! je les ai fait prisonnières prés de l’autre fort, et je les conduis au général.”
Related Themes:
Chapter 21
Explanation and Analysis—Baptizing Beavers:
In Chapter 21, Duncan stands at the ready to shoot a strange man Hawkeye is approaching. The scene is characterized by dramatic irony:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[...]Duncan turned his eyes just in time to perceive that a hundred dark forms were plunging, in a body, into the troubled little sheet. Grasping his rifle, his looks were again bent on the Indian near him. Instead of taking the alarm, the unconscious savage stretched forward his neck, as if he also watched the movements about the gloomy lake, with a sort of silly curiosity. In the meantime, the uplifted hand of Hawkeye was above him. But, without any apparent reason, it was withdrawn, and its owner indulged in another long, though still silent, fit of merriment.
Related Themes:
