Dramatic Irony is irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the play. This literary device greatly impacted the play. It kept the audience entertained because they could see how the characters made mistakes because they didn't know something that the audience did. It also keeps the audience interested because they are curious as to when and how the characters will find out the truth. There was many examples of dramatic irony throughout this play.
One example of dramatic irony was when Don Pedro pretended to be Claudio at the ball, to try and woo Hero. Claudio saw Hero and instantly fell in love with her. Don Pedro told Claudio that he would wear a mask to the ball, pretend to be him, and woo her so that she will want to marry him. This impacted the audience because they knew that is was really Don Pedro under the mask, and it left them wondered if, how, and when Hero was going to find out. It impacted the progression of the plot because now the audience was waiting to see if the plan worked.
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Hero sent a friend to go and tell Beatrice that herself and Ursula were talking about her. When they knew Beatrice was ease dropping, they began to talk about how Benedick was in love with her. Hero was also saying, however, that Beatrice was too proud to ever love anyone. She did this on purpose. This impacted the audience because while Beatrice thought she just overheard that Benedick loves her, she really just got set up. This also impacted the plot because the audience was now curious to see what happens between Beatrice and