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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
Act 1
Explanation and Analysis—Cleopatra's Ignorance:
Throughout the entire first act of the play, Cleopatra discusses her fear of Caesar without knowing that she is, in fact, talking to Caesar himself. The audience is aware of Caesar's identity, an awareness that produces dramatic irony in passages such as the following:
CAESAR: Why? Are you afraid of the Romans?
CLEOPATRA: [very seriously] Oh, they would eat us if they caught us. They are barbarians. Their chief is called Julius Caesar. His father was a tiger and his mother a burning mountain; and his nose is like an elephant's trunk. [Caesar involuntarily rubs his nose.] They all have long noses, and ivory tusks, and little tails, and seven arms with a hundred arrows in each; and they live on human flesh.
Act 3
Explanation and Analysis—Apollodorus' Boat:
In Act 3, Caesar Britannus hands Caesar a bag containing letters, written from Pompey's party to the Roman army of occupation in Alexandria. Caesar refuses to open the bag or read the letters, a decision that later leads to a moment of dramatic irony. He justifies his choice in the following manner:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Would you have me waste the next few years of my life proscribing and condemning men who will be my friends when I have proved that my friendship is worth more than Pompey's was—than Cato's is.
Act 5
Explanation and Analysis—Caesar's Death:
In Act 5, Caesar alludes to his future murder, a real historical event that audience members would likely have been aware of. This creates a sense of dramatic irony and foreshadowing in the following passage, as the audience is privy to information that Caesar is not:
Unlock with LitCharts A+RUFIO: Caesar: I am loth to let you go to Rome without your shield. There are too many daggers there.
CAESAR: It matters not: I shall finish my life's work on my way back; and then I shall have lived long enough. Besides: I have always disliked the idea of dying: I had rather be killed. Farewell.
Explanation and Analysis—Caesar's Return:
At the very end of Act 5, Apollodorus converses with Cleopatra as they watch Caesar depart for Rome. Apollodorus attempts to console Cleopatra about Caesar's departure in a moment of dramatic irony, foreshadowing future events that are fated to take place beyond the time frame of the play:
Unlock with LitCharts A+APOLLODORUS: [to Cleopatra] No tears, dearest Queen: they stab your servant to the heart. [Caesar] will return some day.
CLEOPATRA: I hope not. But I can't help crying, all the same.
