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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
Key Examples in The Minister’s Black Veil
Irony
Explanation and Analysis—Shunning the Virtuous:
A central irony of “The Minister’s Black Veil” is that Reverend Hooper’s veil—which he wears in an attempt to teach his congregation about the way that secrecy, and particularly secret sin, bars them from truly knowing one another and themselves—only serves to further divide him from the people around him. Assuming Reverend Hooper has committed some secret sin of his own and is wearing the black veil to atone for it, the people of Milford quickly start to shun him:
Turning his veiled face from one group to another, he paid due reverence to hoary heads, saluted the middle aged with kind dignity as their friend and spiritual guide, greeted the young with mingled authority and love, and laid his hands on little children's heads to bless them. Such was always his custom on Sabbath day. Strange and bewildered looks repaid him for his courtesy […] He returned, therefore, to the parsonage, and, at the moment of closing the door, was observed to look back upon the people, all of whom had their eyes fixed upon the minister.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Blinded by Pride:
Dramatic irony is a literary device that highlights the difference between what a character knows about a given situation and what the reader knows. In “The Minister’s Black Veil,” dramatic irony is used to show that Reverend Hooper isn’t as justified in wearing the black veil as he thinks he is. The effect of dramatic irony is achieved in this story through the use of a third-person narrator with a distinct personality of their own.
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Related Themes:
