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Imagery
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
Book 1
Explanation and Analysis—King Solomon:
In Book One, Raphael relates his conversations with Cardinal John Morton to More and Peter Giles. In one particular conversation, Raphael describes a friar whom, offended by the words of a fool spoken in jest, begins to call that fool all kinds of terrible names. The friar justifies his actions with an allusion to King Solomon from the Bible in a situationally ironic moment:
"I would not act more wisely. For Solomon, that wisest of men, says Answer a fool according to his folly, just as I'm doing now. I'm showing him the pit into which he'll fall if he's not careful."
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Religious Authority:
In Book One, Raphael relates a past conversation he had with Cardinal John Morton, a friar, and several others. In the course of this conversation, More—speaking through the voice of Raphael—provides satirical commentary on the hypocrisy of religious authorities. The friar is easily offended when the fool calls him a "vagrant":
Unlock with LitCharts A+"[The friar] called [the fool] an idle wretch, a slanderer, a stirrer of discord and a son of perdition, invoking the most blood-chilling threats from sacred scripture."
Related Themes:
