La Dama Boba Analysis

In this essay, I will evaluate how both dramatic irony and verbal irony are used in the play La Dama Boba by Lope de Vega and the picaresque novel Lazarillo de Tormes. I will analyse the treatment of verbal and dramatic irony such as the use of verbal irony in religious terms in Lazarillo, how Lazarillo portrays himself using irony and how dramatic irony is the focal point of the novel. I will discuss the dramatic irony in La Dama Boba and the reason dramatic irony comes about as well as instances of verbal irony, and what these two writing techniques show the audience about Spanish society in the 14th and 15th century and Lope de Vega’s characters.
In Lazarillo de Tormes, the protagonist uses verbal irony as a form of self-parody and self-portrayal. We see it in Lazaro’s emphatic declaration of trust in his wife, even though she is cuckolding him

He boasts about his wisdom and clarity in understanding the way society works. While this is true, he does understand society, he does not understand his daughters, particularly Nise, who he likens to a female Don Quixote. There is also verbal irony in the second act, when Laurencio speaks about love, stating it can move mountains. His commentary on love is verbally ironic because the idealism he has when he speaks of love is completely contrastable to how he treats love, as a financial incentive and a way of ensuring he has enough money to correspond to his noble blood. Verbal irony is apparent is Lope de Vega’s own narrative, the turning point of the play is when Finea has a breakthrough of sense and develops a strategy into duping everyone she is still la dama boba to solve the problem of Liseo’s renewed interest in her. Finea explains how women have been deceiving men since birth (or even before then). It is ironic that when Finea becomes sensible, Lope follows with an anti-feminist