How Is Dramatic Irony Used In The Scarlet Letter

Dramatic irony is in speeches or a situation of drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the play. For instance when Judge Danforth and Elizabeth Proctor were talking; Danforth: "We are given to understand that at one time you dismissed your servant, Abigail Williams...Why did you dismiss Abigail Williams?" Elizabeth:"She dissatisfied me; And my husband" (Act IV). This quotes shows dramatic irony when Elizabeth lies to protect Johns reputation, but what she does not know is that John himself has already confessed to adultery. Thus both of their reputations are damaged, John’s for adultery and Elizabeths for

Dramatic irony is the type of irony that informs the reader of a certain fact that one or more characters in the story may not know. This is quite evident in Young Goodman Brown and A Cask of Amontillado, because of the lack of knowledge that the

The Puritans despised Hester and her symbol for her sin, and shunned her for many years even after her prison sentence. Hester could have just lived a depressed, lonely life in seclusion with her daughter Pearl, but she decided to accept her sin and wrong doing to become a mentally stronger woman. During the many years of Hester being in prison and being rejected when she was released, she practiced needlework to provide food for her and her daughter. As the people in Salem recognized her talent of her embroidery and garments, they began respecting her talent, and so the scarlet “A” that stood for “adulterer” slowly began to stand for “able.” Hester started to supply apparel for babies, ceremonies, inaugurations, and funerals. Furthermore, the Scarlet letter has another symbolic meaning. When Pearl went to the seashore, she made a green letter “A” out of seaweed – nature’s color. This was symbolic for Pearl’s sinless life so far because she hasn’t truly been introduced to sin; she still is “green” and “pure”. As for Hester, her scarlet “A” is symbolic of her many sins, for no one can avoid sin as they grow older.

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, was first published in 1850. It was set in a harsh Puritan community in Massachusetts during the seventeenth century. Hawthorne was of Puritan descent and researched the community. The focus of his novel is based on the adulteress act of Hester Prynne and how she was treated by her community. The novel is known for it’s abundance of rhetorical and literary devices, and was one of the first novels to effectively use them. Hawthorne uses rhetorical devices to portray his views and thoughts about the community. One device Hawthorne uses is irony. Specifically, dramatic, situational, and verbal irony. Hawthorne's use of irony is employed to show the true characteristics and emotions of the characters,

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, symbolsim is constantly present in the actual scarlet letter “A” as it is viewed as a symbol of sin and the gradally changes its meanign, guilt is also a mejore symbol, and Pearl’s role in this novel is symbolic as well. The Scarlet Letter includes many profound and crucial symbols. these devices of symbolism are best portayed in the novel, most noticably through the letter “A” best exemplifies the changes in the symbolic meaning throughout the novel.

"Irony is a device that protects him (the artist) from the pain of his experience so that he may use it objectively in his art(Susquehanna. "New Critical")." In The Glass Menagerie, it is ironic how Tom speaks badly of his father and his leaving home but in the end he leaves home just like his father, the man "in love with long distances (Williams 30)''. The fact that Amanda wants what is best for her children is ironic because she worries so much over it that she doesn't realize what is best for them.

The very scarlet letter from which the novel’s name is derived from is a symbol of sinning; the scarlet letter represents how Puritan society views sinning as unforgivable and something for public speculation. Hester is punished by wearing hers out for the world to see. The letter is “so fantastically embroidered” that one townswoman argues that its intricacy and design defeat the entire purpose of wearing it. The scarlet letter serves as an

The first indication of dramatic irony is in “Masque of the Red Death” when the black room with the blood red windows is described. This description creates a bad feeling about the room and the reader senses something bad will happen in that room. This idea is proven later when the Prince dies in that room. Another example of dramatic irony is demonstrated in “Terrible Things” when Bunting writes “‘We have come for any creature that is white,” the Terrible Things thundered. “There are no white creatures here but us”’(Bunting, Three). This quotation illustrates dramatic irony because the rabbits do not understand that the Terrible Things are there for them, but the reader has this realization. This alarms the readers and causes one to dread what will happen to the rabbits. One more example of how dramatic irony builds suspense in stories is in “The Lottery” when Tessie says “‘I think we ought to start over” Mrs. Hutchinson said… I tell you it wasn't fair… you didn't give him enough time. Everybody saw that’” (Jackson, Four). This quotation is a good example of dramatic irony because when Tessie started causing a scene the reader begins to suspect that she will be the one who is chosen. This is significant because her pleading adds to the audience's fear of not knowing what will happen to the person who is

Another example of dramatic irony lies in Edith Wharton’s novel Ethan Frome. The author reveals in the prologue that Ethan remains in Starkville after sustaining a serious injury from a mysterious accident. Although the details are unclear, when Ethan expresses his desire for freedom and a life away from the cold and bitter town, The reader is well aware that he does not get the happy ending he wants so desperately. The most obvious example of dramatic irony present in The Scarlet Letter, is the fictitious friendship between Arthur Dimmesdale and Rodger Chillingworth. Hawthorne reveals early in the novel that the reverend is in fact Pearl’s father. In an exchange between Hester and Chillingworth, he discloses his plans to take vengeance on her lover. Chillingworth, Hester’s husband, remarks “I shall make him tremble” (Hawthorne 71). Once he discovers that Dimmesdale is Hester's former paramour, Chillingwoth attaches himself to the minister like a leech under the guise of friendship. Both Hester and the reader know

A sense of dramatic irony is thought to be used throughout the reading. However, the book often takes a turn so that the reader’s previous thoughts on the plot are changed.

The main character, Hester Prynne, is publicly shamed for adultery and forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest. Although one might view Hester as an evil character considering that she has committed a rather unbearable sin in the eyes of 1650 Boston, she is not at all a bad person. Though she commits one of the worst sins for a woman, she is not entirely unvirtuous. Though Hester is punished by being forced to wear the scarlet letter, she turns the letter “A” into more than adultery. “Such helpfulness was found in her, - so much power to do, and power to sympathize, - that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength”

Yet, it shows a huge disparity in mindset in the drama, this of which allowing the story to regenerate its plot and suspenseful setting. As a final point, irony in this situation is showing an antithetical way of humor and

First of all, the scarlet letter stands for Hester's sin. By forcing Hester to wear the letter A on her bosom, the Puritan community not only punishes this weak young woman for her adultery but labels her identity as an adulteress and immoral human being as well. "Thus the young and the pure would be taught to look at her, with the letter flaming on her chest", also "as the figure, the body and the reality of sin." And the day Hester began to wear the scarlet A on her bosom is the opening of her darkness. From that moment, people, who look at her, must notice the letter A manifest itself in the red color covering not only her bosom, but her own character. The Puritans now only see the letter A, the representation of sin, scorn and hate

The Puritan townspeople of Boston, Massachusetts, punish a woman for committing an ignominious act with an unexpected man. Hester stands alone on the scaffold as townspeople scowl and judge, wondering who her lover is. The innocent town seamstress is a sinner in the eyes of the pure citizens. As Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter continues, the residents notice Hester’s abilities when caring for her daughter. She also regains respect as the bearer of the scarlet letter, the emblem she wears that “takes her out of the ordinary relationships with humanity and encloses her in a sphere by herself” (Hawthorne 51). Mistress Hester Prynne is an example taught to others because of her hardships faced without her true love. Hester transforms

In the ninth through eighteenth chapters of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, many things are established. The characters in the novel are beginning to be fully characterized, Pearl is described as “elvish” and to have an “elf-smile in her eyes” and at such a young age Pearl displays a supernatural intelligence that most three year-old’s do not possess. Pearl is a living example representing the sin of adultery that Hester Prynne, her mother, has committed, which connects to the theme. Pearl is very much alike her mother Hester, because of their captivating beauty. Another character development is the evolution of Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale’s illness. Dimmesdale becomes extremely ill, and he punishes himself because of the sin he committed which was also adultery, with Hester Prynne. Dimmesdale slowly begins to attempt to reveal his sinfulness through his sermons, but this leads his congregation to believe he is very holy and could never be a sinful being. Hawthorne uses dramatic irony, through this situation because the reader knows who the father of Pearl is and that Dimmesdale committed adultery, but the people of the