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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
Book 2, Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Four Hundred g:
As Arthur and Merlyn discuss battle strategies on the battlements of Castle Camelot in Chapter 2 of The Queen of Air and Darkness, the pair see some men walking along the path below. Arthur offers to drop a rock on the head of one of the men, and—in a moment of dramatic irony—Merlyn understands what will happen:
'At thirty-two feet per second,' he said, 'I think it would kill him dead. Four hundred g is enough to shatter the skull.
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Book 2, Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Different Things:
While the portents of battle gather outside on the plain of Bedegraine, Arthur stays inside the castle. Because he is deep in discussion with Kay, Ector, and Merlyn, it seems as though they are making a plan. But even in the hour of war, they are discussing other things; White plays this situation for laughs:
Unlock with LitCharts A+King Arthur paid no attention to the coming battle. He sat invisible in his pavilion, at the hub of the excitement, and talked to Sir Ector or Kay or Merlyn day after day. The smaller captains were delighted to think that their King was having so many councils of war, for they could see the lamp burning inside the silk tent until all hours, and they felt sure he was inventing a splendid plan of campaign. Actually the conversation was about different things.
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