Examples Of Dramatic Irony In Romeo And Juliet

Imagine a movie where a man is walking through the woods. The audience gets a view of the end of the woods, where a pack of hungry wolves is waiting to capture their next meal. The man continues to trudge forward, not knowing the danger ahead. This is a perfect example of dramatic irony. Dramatic irony is quite common in fictional stories, and it can be used to make a plot more captivating to the audience or reader. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare masterfully takes advantage of this fact and includes dramatic irony several times throughout. This writing style affects the play by giving the audience a sense of fear for their favorite characters; this keeps the story interesting and engaging and causes new conflicts to occur.

Dramatic irony

The prologue tells us that both Romeo and Juliet die at the end of the story, so the audience always knows this fact. When Juliet explains to Romeo, “Or, if thou thinkest I am too quickly won, I’ll frown and be perverse and say thee nay” (2.2.100-101). Juliet foresees a slight danger ahead if she marries Romeo quickly. While the audience knows that there is trouble ahead, Romeo denies it and still marries her. This creates a sense of frustration within the audience because all this could be prevented, but the characters do not know what fate has in store for them. Of course, the biggest instance of dramatic irony in this entire play is when Romeo is talking to Juliet while she is under the influence of the potion: “Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath, hath had no power yet upon thy beauty” (5.3.92-93). In this quote, Romeo is saying Juliet looks the same as when she was alive. It is ironic because she is alive. The excerpt produces a sense of panic in the audience because it makes them want Romeo to know the truth. Both these examples of dramatic irony from the play frustration within the audience that the characters act on things that they know will lead to