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"You know the problem with being smart? You always know what will happen next. It ruins the suspense." Or does it? The use of "dramatic irony" has never failed to ignite a sense of excitement in any storyline. An added sense of control and superiority over the situation has always seemed to work for the audience, be it in Shakespeare's plays or present day blockbuster films.
Dramatic irony is basically a relationship of contrast between a character's limited understanding of his situation and the audience's complete understanding of the actual situation.
It is therefore the result of a special sort of discrepancy in perspective, and hence is "moment bound".
There is on one hand how things appear from a perspective that emerges within the action of a given moment, and which is constrained by the limitations of an individual's history up to a certain moment (in fiction, this would be the picture held up by some character, say, the protagonist of the drama.). There is on the other hand an abbreviated perspective that takes into account the whole picture , part of which is unknown to the fictional character in that moment. For dramatic irony to occur, some consciousness (in most cases, this will be the audience) must be simultaneously aware of both the above perspectives.
Genre: Romance/Tragedy: The use of dramatic irony in this genre is usually to heighten the emotional connection with the audience. People tend to sympathize more with the character's vulnerability and this strengthens the tragic element.
Drama
Romeo and Juliet- William Shakespeare
"Romeo, Romeo, Romeo! Here's drink-I drink to thee. "
This line contains the entire essence of the tragic romance and leads to the hasty death of Romeo and Juliet.
After selecting her attire for the wedding, Juliet asks the nurse to leave her alone for the night, before her wedding with Paris the next morning. This was her attempt to seek some privacy and attain the courage she needed to stand up against society.
After the nurse's departure, Juliet is seen having a mental battle with her fears and suspicions. She fears that the potion might be Friar Laurence's attempt to murder her in order to hide his participation in the wedding. Even if she manages to settle her mind and trust Laurence, there is still the danger of her waking up in the vault before Romeo's arrival.
The depth of Juliet's love can be seen in her willingness to drink the potion. She finally makes up her mind after a vision that signifies a battle between fate and love and the latter finally wins as potion trickles down her throat.
The next morning everyone is seen mourning Juliet's death (in reality, she is asleep and is simply feigning death). Rome wakes up from a dream in which the scenario was the exact opposite. He found himself lying dead while Juliet kissed his lips in an attempt to join him in death.
Not realizing the actuality of the situation, Romeo wakes up to the news of Juliet's demise and decides to defy fate and join his beloved in her afterlife. He concludes that the law cares nothing about his love and thus he shall break it. "Then I defy you, stars", uttering these words he rushes to Juliet's graves, proclaims his "proper" love for her and drinks the (real) poison to join her in death.
The play ends with Juliet waking up to realize what really happened. She then decides to fulfill her fate and stabs herself.
Throughout the play, it is only the audience that is fully aware of what is going on. At the moment when Romeo reaches to drink the poison assuming Juliet is already dead, almost everyone in the audience is likely to be at the edge of their seats wishing he would wait just a moment so Juliet could wake up from her sleep. Being unaware of these elements of the play, it could be said that their emotions (had they been aware) were lived by the audience.
Film
Titanic- James Cameron
"It is unsinkable. God himself could not sink this ship. "
That is exactly how the Titanic was described in the film. One of the best known tragic romances of all time, the storyline of this film completely revolves around dramatic irony. The highlight of the movie is the sense of merriment and care-freeness displayed by all the characters during the first half of the film and the contrasting sense of horror and fear displayed in the second.
The 1500 passengers on the ship held high hopes and were eager to leave their pasts behind and begin a new future in America.
The focus then shifts to the main characters of the film, Jack, a homeless artist who won two tickets to the luxury liner and Rose, a troubled young woman from a very wealthy background who is engaged to a millionaire against her wish.
.These two characters, from astonishingly different backgrounds, meet on the ship and eventually fall in love. All seems to go well and they even begin to think about their future, no matter how uncertain "When this ship docks, I'm getting off with you. This is crazy. I know. It doesn't make any sense. That's why I trust it", when suddenly misery strikes them and the other passengers like a bolt of lightning. The "unsinkable" ship hits a giant iceberg that obviously the crewmen didn't notice at night and sinks killing more than half the passengers.
Jack heroically saves Rose and sacrifices his own life. He freezes to death and sinks to the bottom of the ocean as Rose, unwillingly, lets him go waiting for rescue. This marked the very tragic end to their short-lived but strong love story. The beginning was as unexpected as the end.
The film has numerous similarities with a typical Shakespearean tragedy. The lead characters have several flaws and have a humane touch, As with Romeo and Juliet, the lives of Jack and Rose are grounded by fate and their love story ends with the death of one of the main characters. Likewise the audience knew, right from the first scene, what fate had in store for the Titanic and the lovers.
Genre: Comedy: In this genre the use of dramatic irony usually is one of the prime elements that create comedy. Without this any given situation would create more confusion than humor.
Drama
A Midsummer Night's Dream- William Shakespeare
"The course of true love never did run smooth."
When Lysander spoke these words to Hermia and compared their romance to a river current, he was hardly aware of the twists coming up in their love story.
The audience knows that fairies in the woods are using magic to change the perception of the young lovers, while the lovers are completely oblivious to these supernatural powers.
The sudden change in Demetrius' attitude towards Helena came as a surprise and, he says he can never be in love with her and almost instantly falls for her. Likewise, Lysander claims he can never stop loving Hermia then falls madly in love with Helena.
The confusion begins when Puck enters complaining that he couldn't find the Athenian youth in the forest. Then he spots Lysander, assumes he is the one spurning the Athenian lady and pours the potion in his eyes. At this moment, the audience can anticipate that Shakespeare will manage to get Lysander to see Helena when he wakes up and then hilarity will ensue. Trying to correct his mistake, Puck ends up getting both Demetrius and Lysander fall in love with Helena who assumes they are both trying to mock her. In a different scene, Titania, with the same potion in her eyes, wakes up to find Nick Bottom (who now has the head off an ass courtesy Puck's mischievous magic) and falls in love with him and his voice. This paves a way for all the chaos in the play.
It could be said that almost all of the comic essence of the play lies in Shakespeare's use of dramatic irony. The audience is always aware of what is going wrong and this makes the situation even funnier. It is this dramatic device that turns confusion into comedy.
Film
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy- Woody Allen
"It's nothing serious - just an arrow in his heart."
While not, except in the loosest possible way, based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the confusion and utter hilarity displayed in this film is rather comparable.
Unusually, the plot hardly has any connection with the title. It is neither a romance nor a sex comedy. It seems like a case of false advertisement. Although, to its credit, it does at least seem to take place in mid-summer.
The plot revolves around Andrew, a Wall Street accountant and inventor; his sexually repressed wife Adrian; Leopold , Adrian's uncle and an esteemed University professor; Leopold's sexually adventuresome fiance Ariel , who Andrew once dated; Maxwell, a perpetually sex starved doctor, who is also Andrew's best friend; and Dulcy , Maxwell's nurse and friend with benefits (they don't actually use that term).
The comedy of manners caused by mistaken identities, dry humor and rise and fall in comic tension begins when Andrew invites two of his friends Leopold and Maxwell over to his town house for the weekend. They each bring their own dates and that marks the beginning of hilarious entertainment.
While the mistaken identities retain some of the typical Shakespearean style the typical pattern is mostly sustained due to the satire caused by role reversal. Adrian aggressively pursues her reluctant husband in the kitchen. To the accompaniment of "The Lord's Prayer" sung by Leopold in the next room, she nearly rapes Andrew only to realize that his "backside is on fire". This is very similar to Helena's pursuit of Demetrius. Although, Shakespeare's play starts with mystical elements and ends with the air of confusion getting cleared and the exact reverse happens in this film. Leopold gets involved with Dulcy after accidentally wounding Maxwell with an arrow. Maxwell confesses to Andrew that he was involved with Adrienne and that's what probably caused the start of Andrew and Adrienne's marriage problems. Andrew confesses his feelings for Ariel to Adrienne and they were involved too. Everyone goes back to the house and discover that Leopold dies after having intercourse with Dulcy. Leopold becomes a spirit, exits Andrew's spirit ball, he realizes that there is a world beyond this one and joins the spirits who live in the woods near Andrew's house and that appear during summer nights.
Genre: Suspense: This is, perhaps, the most difficult genre for the use of dramatic irony. Giving up too much information could prove to be disastrous and spoil the entire story. In the case of Macbeth, the audience already has some idea about the end, but is Shakespeare's magical storytelling that keeps the play interested. In case of the film, Hitchcock deliberately misguides the audience into believing that they know where the story is heading until he suddenly splashes their eyes with the actual situation and stuns everyone.
Drama
Macbeth- William Shakespeare
"Let not light see my black and deep desires"
What light couldn't see, the audience clearly could.
The play opens with the witches rhyming speech "fair is foul, and foul is fair" and this gives the audience hints about the forthcoming series of deception and foul play.
The actual dramatic irony starts in the first scene where Duncan talks to Macbeth about his rewards for killing the traitor , "Only I have left to say, more is thy due, than more than all can pay.", when Macbeth, himself, is the one that plans to murder him.
Macbeth murders Duncan in his sleep with a dagger. He intends to frame the chamberlains for the murder, but is so distraught after the killing that he forgets to leave the dagger behind. Lady Macbeth orchestrates the actual framing of the chamberlains by placing the bloody daggers beside them as they sleep. Later, Macbeth then kills the chamberlains "in a rage" the next morning when he comes upon them in "surprise" with Macduff--this evokes suspicion in the latter, as it is a seemingly vicious overreaction, one which Macbeth tries to support with the claim of being so completely outraged that he could not restrain himself.
After Duncan is murdered Lady Macbeth acts as if she is worried and she cannot collate the immediate events. It is meaningful as the noble men do not suspect a thing from her after she supposedly 'faints' and this duplicity allows her to take power with Macbeth.
The climax of the play, too, boils down to dramatic irony. When McDuff's son asks his mother about his father and she tells him that he is a traitor. She assumes her husband has "run off" to England when in reality McDuff travels to save Scotland from Macbeth's tyranny.
Eventually, when Macbeth discovers Malcolm's army (which he built with Mcduff's help), the Weird Sisters' prophecy reveals his weakness. The audience realizes that Macbeth isn't as invulnerable as he seems. His pride begins to dwindle when he hears of Lady Macbeth's death. When Mcduff arrives he keeps mocking him until he finds out that he was "untimely ripped" from his mother's womb and thus denies the prophecy. Mcduff finally avenges his family and kills Macbeth.
It was evident, right from the introduction, that Macbeth's pride and blind faith in Lady Macbeth would be the cause of his downfall.
Film
Psycho- Alfred Hitchcock
"I think I must have one of those faces you can't help believing. "
This is one film that not only broke the conventions of horror filmmaking but also the use of dramatic irony.
Up to the first half, the audience is convinced that they have more information than some of the characters (namely, Sam and Lila).
The film opens with Marion and Sam in a hotel room in Phoenix when the audience realizes that the two are in an adulterous relationship and that the latter is too poor to get a divorce.
Marion is frustrated with her present situation and out of desperation to seek a better life ends up stealing $40000 from her old, loud mouthed client Tom Cassidy. She pays cash for a new car and her nervousness catches the attention that spots her sleeping in it and warns her about sleeping on the roadside.
She drives a while to find the Bates Motel where she decides to spend the night. On entering, she meets, Norman Bates, a jittery young man who gives her a room next to his office. During a conversation with Norman Marion realizes her mistake and decides to return the money. After she gets back to her room, Norman voyeuristic side of Norman is revealed when he peeps through the wall and matches Marion undress. After nervously covering the hole he steps outside to get some fresh air. While standing outside we hear the voice of Norman's mother who is furious about having a female guest in the house and suspects her intentions.
In the next few scenes Marion is taking a shower when a shadow is seen approaching. A figure in a granny suit shows up. She has a kitchen knife in her hand and brutally murders Marion, slashing her flesh so that her blood gushes. The killer vanished and later the corpse is discovered by a horrified Norman. In an attempt to protect his mother, wraps the body in shower curtains, puts it in a trunk and disposes it in a nearby swamp.
When Marion doesn't return, her sister Lila and Sam begin to search for her. At the same time Milton Arbogast, a private detective hired by Tom Cassidy, too looks for Marion in order to investigate the case of the missing $40000. He reaches the motel and gets killed by the same old lady with a kitchen knife. Norman screams in terror of the sight and it is at this point that the audience knows that it is his mother, who killed Marion,
Having waited too long for Milton, Lila and Sam decide to drive to the area of the Bates Motel and meet the local sheriff. This is when there is a shocking revelation in the movie that brings the audience to a nail biting situation. Norman's mother has been dead for years.
Lila and Sam drive to the motel. Sam keeps Norman busy while Lila goes in to investigate. After exploring his mother's bedroom she rushes to the basing to make a horrifying discovery. She notices a figure in a chair, seemingly Mrs. Bates, turned away from her. On moving closer she realizes it isn't a live woman but a sunken faced, rotting cadaver. It is the grinning corpse of Norman's mother. Lila reels back in horror when suddenly another woman, with the same kitchen knife attacks her from behind. Luckily Sam arrives and saves her and they both make the final discovery that the woman in the granny dress who killed both Marion and Milton is none other than Norman himself.
Later, a psychiatrist, Dr. Richmond, tries to explain the situation, saying that Norman had never been the same after his mother and her lover were murdered in front of his eyes. Traumatized by that horrific event, Norman became a schizophrenic, assuming his mother's personality and killing in revenge for her fate. He also explains that Norman dug up the old corpse and kept it near him to maintain the illusion that his mother was still alive so that he could transfer his own guilt for his many murders on to her. This attribute and the attempt to hide or project the guilt on someone else can be compared to Lady Macbeth's compulsive hand washing. She felt her guilt and this was an attempt to wash her sins away. "