Essays on Irony

Edgar Allan Poe is an extraordinary writer with many powerful pieces of work, such as The Raven, The Fall of the House, and The Tell-Tale Heart. The author’s theme in the story “The Black Cat” is Overconfidence can betray. In his short story “The Black …

The epistle of Saint John unequivocally states, “Love comes from God” (1 John 4:7). This statement not only explains the source of love but it also provides a means to understand both love and God. If love is from God, then an understanding of love …

[caption id="attachment_358175" align="alignleft" width="197"] “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is a story written by Flannery O’Connor in 1953.[/caption] “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is a short story written by Flannery O’Connor, a significant American writer and essayist. Her writing style reflects …

Title: How does Shakespeare make this scene both a significant and dramatic moment in the play? In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth there are a lot of dramatic, exciting and tragic occurrences in many of the scenes. Although in the beginning, Shakespeare foreshadowed the tragedies that were …

The short story “Sweat,” by Zora Neale Hurston, seems to exemplify the epitome of a bad marriage. Hurston uses foreshadowing and irony to demonstrate the disintegrated relationship between the abusive husband and the diligent wife. Throughout the story, it becomes obvious that the husband does …

The short story, “Roman Fever” by Edith Wharton, reveals numerous popular literary elements. Some of the most prominent examples of literary elements are irony, symbolism, and foreshadowing. All three elements create the feel and atmosphere of the short story. They add illustration, mystery, and humor …

How does Jane Austen introduce Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy to the reader in the opening scenes? Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, published in 1813 is a novel that is acknowledged as a masterpiece. The opening sentence of Pride and Prejudice is famously ironic, “it …

In the short story, Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl uses the literary devices of dramatic irony, foreshadowing, and imagery to depict a dark comedy by grasping the idea of a tragedy becoming humorous. There are multiple uses and examples of irony throughout this …

The play Trifles written by Susan Glaspell is set in the nineteenth century. A trifle is a thing of little value or importance, so in the play Trifles the irony of the story is quite humorous. In this time period women were not treated as …

In the play Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses verbal, situational, and dramatic irony to add to the reader’s enjoyment. Shakespeare used irony a lot through the play adding more humor, suspense, shock, and makes the viewers want more. Romeo and Juliet is a perfect play …

Africa is one of the world’s continents, having a unique physical make up of its own which comprises of some of the distinct features in the likes of mountains, lakes, falls and plains just to mention a few. It is from this outset that one …

Aubade is the last poem by Philip Larkin. This poem became the culmination of his life and work and contains basic ideas of Larkin’s philosophical and literary credo. This poem became Larkin’s profound and personal investigation of the theme of death. Published in the Times …

Forms of speech and intonation are extremely important to capture the attention of the audience, whether it is in writing or spoken aloud. In literature, the author uses some literary devices to entice the reader and extract some sort of reaction from him or her. …

“To Build a Fire” by Jack London is the tragic tale of a man who becomes a victim of the relentless and unforgiving power of nature. Mirroring life as most people experience it, realistic fiction includes the daily challenges and tribulations of being human. Throughout …

 “A Barred Owl” vs. “The History Teacher” Essay and analysis “A Barred Owl” by Richard Wilbur and “The History Teacher” by Billy Collins both have adults lying to children. A childish tone is given off in “A Barred Owl” that helps the reader relate to the …

The king was supposed to punish the bad people by putting them in the arena, but by having her lover out there was more of a punishment to her. The kings method of “semi-barbaric justice” is an example of verbal irony-You don’t expect a barbaric …

The narrator’s attitude toward jazz is one of ambivalence, but the attentive reader will understand that it is a form of wilful ambivalence in that the narrator has seemingly made a quiet but definite break with anything that might be considered “pop” culture and more …

An important aspect of Miller’s “Death of  a Salesman” is the play’s denouement — which is commonly accepted as being the moment that Loman commits suicide, and in doing so, hopes to provide his son, Biff, “with insurance money for a fresh start” (Phelps 239). …

The Dramatic Irony in Oedipus the King Before taking a closer look on the identity of the protagonist and murderer, and having in mind that Oedipus the King is a very spacious and difficult to analyze play, including opportunities for discussion on quite a few …

The Emigrants by Edward Kamau Brathwaite The poem from The Emigrants by Edward Kamau Brathwaite is the thoughts of an indigenous inhabitant, the persona, thinking of the invasion that has been so abruptly brought upon them which they must now face. We know that the …

In what ways does Shakespeare draw parallel situations between King Lear and Earl of Gloucester, and how are the characters similar in the play (specifically Act 1)? While examining Lear and Gloucester, there are obvious similarities, such as that they are both of an older …

Irony is the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. It is used throughout poetry and allows the reader to analyze and differentiate what seems, and what actually is. There are different types of irony including verbal, situational, and dramatic. Irony …

People can suffer in silence and suddenly they either shock us by doing something drastic or they emerge as heroes who win our admiration. ” a) Briefly outline what happens in “Richard Cory” and “God’s Work”. Richard Cory, the subject of the poem by Edwin …

The Letterbox Essay By Lori Provan “The Letterbox” By Ann Marie Di Mambro is a dramatic monologue which discusses the theme of domestic violence. This essay will look at how the author uses a wide range of intense techniques to explore the theme. In “The …

Telephone conversation by Wole Soyinka is about, as the title suggests, a conversation over the telephone between two people – a West African man and a British landlady. The former was looking for a place to live in London. He felt that the ‘price seemed …

Marcella English 10 Period: 5 The portrayal of Father to child Relationship in Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” According to photographer and designer Anne Geddes, “Any man can be a father but it takes someone special to be a dad. ” Being a father is …

What if irony didn’t exist? If it didn’t, even at a minimal level, The Scarlet Letter wouldn’t be able to function in its complete and published form. Its frame and substructure of distinctly morose themes scrutinizing sin, knowledge, and the human condition would not exist …

A literary technique is a device employed in literature to add depth to a writer’s work. These techniques can be obvious, such as the technique of rhyme in a poem, or subtle, such as juxtaposition, which can go unnoticed by the reader. In The Things …

Henry James uses, Lavinia Penniman predominantly for the comic relief derived from her unrealistic romantic scheme, her extensive hyperbole, and deceitfulness. Mrs Penniman is seen as a caricature, a caricature is a humorous illustration that exaggerates or distorts the features of a person to form …

Satire and irony are the main literary tools used by Jonathan Swift in A Modest Proposal and Gulliver’s Travels. The author has used irony to create satire in making the audience see the deeper truths within the prevailing social, moral and political circumstances prevailing during …