Various Emotions Brewed from a Tragic Love Story Irony is one of the most important aspects of any book. While reading any piece, many ironic effects such as verbal, situational, and dramatic can be created. Dramatic irony allows for the audience to know that the characters do not have, which can often create a variety of emotions among readers. The dramatic irony in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare can create various feelings for the audience, such as amusement, romance, and despair. Amusement is a common emotion many audiences experience while looking at a young, immature character. Shakespeare often creates scenes that display his characters’ immaturity in Romeo and Juliet. For example, when Romeo was talking with Benvolio, he stated, “One fairer than my love”. The all-seeing sun Ne’er saw her match since the world first began” (Act I, Scene 2, Lines 99-100). Romeo believes …show more content…
However, the audience already knows that he will soon fall in love with Juliet and leave Rosaline in the dust due to the title of the play. This creates the effect of amusement because it shows the reader how immature Romeo is to be so smitten over Rosaline but soon be over her as he finds a prettier woman. This amuses the audience as they realize that Romeo is a superficial person who is only in love with Juliet for her looks, just like he was with Rosaline. Another example of amusement is when the nurse came home and started saying, “Ah, well-a-day! He’s dead, he’s dead! We are undone, ladies, we are undone! Alack the day - a great idea! He’s gone, he’s killed! He’s dead!” (Acts III, Scene 2, Lines 41-43). The nurse is telling Juliet that Tybalt is dead, which is knowledge that the audience already has. However, since the nurse only says “he” Juliet thinks that the nurse is referring to Romeo, as she is so lovestruck by him that he is always occupying her mind. The audience already knows that Romeo is still alive, creating dramatic irony. This