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Anthropomorphism
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 9. Koroviev’s Stunts
Explanation and Analysis—Devil Knows How Far!:
In almost the same way idiom and irony cross paths, Nikanor Ivanovich bumps into the strange man with the pince-nez and jockey cap as he checks on apartment 50 at the start of Chapter 9:
‘Why, he’s gone, he’s gone already!’ shouted the interpreter. ‘Oh, he is way out by now! The devil knows how far he is!’ and the interpreter waved his hands like a windmill.
Related Themes:
Chapter 17. An Unquiet Day
Explanation and Analysis—The Choral Director:
Dramatic irony writes itself throughout Chapter 17 as Vasily Stepanovich shuffles from one dysfunctional commission building to the next. A visit to Prokhor Petrovich’s office—in which he meets a bodiless suit signing papers—sends him just as quickly to the other branch, where he finds all its employees burst out in uncontrollable fits of song. The wailing young lady gives an account of the events:
Unlock with LitCharts A+‘And today, at lunch time, the director comes in…
…and brings in by the hand some son of a bitch,’ the girl went on. ‘Heaven knows where he picked him up-in tight checkered pants, with a cracked pince-nez, and…generally…an impossible smug!...
Related Themes:
Chapter 18. Hapless Visitors
Explanation and Analysis—No Good People:
Maximilian Andreyevich enters apartment 50 with high hopes and a strange acquaintance. Meeting a tomcat and a crying stranger in Chapter 18, Berlioz’s uncle feels a sudden upwelling of emotion, in a moment laden with paradox and irony:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Berlioz’s uncle was sincerely moved by the stranger’s conduct. “And they say there are no good people left in the world today!" he thought, feeling that his own eyes were beginning to smart.
Related Themes:
