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Dramatic Irony In A Dolls Hous Essay

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Dramatic Irony in A Dolls House


Irony serves the purpose of accentuating a story, it also adds


to its creativity and originality. There are numerous types of


irony in the play A Doll’s House by Henrik Isben. Throughout


this work three types of irony are used, dramatic, situational,


and verbal. These three types of irony help bring out certain


conflicts within the play. These Conflicts, without irony,


wouldn t provide readers with such enjoyable or dazzling plays


to read.


Dramatic Irony, defined by Websters Dictionary, is the


incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the


accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience


but not by the characters in the play A Doll’s House contains


abundant examples of dramatic irony. In A Doll’s House the


reader is aware that Nora borrowed money from Krogstad without


her husband’s permission. Nora also forged her father’s name to


gain the money. She says, “You don’t know all. I forged a name.”


In the following conversation between Nora and Christine it is


clearly stated that Torvald does not know of Nora’s actions:


“Mrs. Linde: And since then have you never told your secret to


your husband? Nora: Good heavens, no!” Another example of


dramatic irony in A Doll’s House is when Nora wants to practice


a dance called the Tarantella. When Torvald goes to look in the


letterbox Nora says, “Torvald please don’t. There is nothing in


there.” The reader knows that Nora has not forgotten the dance.


Nora then says, “I can’t dance to-morrow if I don’t practice


with you.” All Nora is trying to do is keep Torvald from reading


the mail that contains a letter from Krogstad.


Situational Irony is a discrepancy and a formation of a


situation that one would logically anticipate or that would seem


appropriate and the situation that actually develops. An example


of situational irony within A Doll’s House is when Nora leaves


Torvald. There is no hint that Nora is going to leave Torvald


until the end of the

book. During the beginning of the book Nora


acts as if she loves him. Only till Nora says, “Or if anything


else should happen to me-anything, for instance, that might


prevent me from being here-” the reader gets a feeling that Nora


might leave Torvald. At the end of the play she calls Torvald a


“stranger” and walks out. The reader does not expect Mrs. Linde


and Krogstad to have been married. The reader does not even know


that they are friends. When Christine, Mrs. Linde, says, “Nils,


how would it be if we two shipwrecked people could join forces?


The reader finds out that Christine and Krogstad compel each


other. No one expects Christine to want Krogstad because he has


been corrupt in the past. What us readers didn t know till later


was that Christine also knew and loved Krogstad in the past.


Verbal irony is the discrepancy between what someone says and


what he or she really means. In A Doll’s House when Helmer says,


“Is that my little skylark twittering out there?” Helmer is not


asking if Nora is a bird; nor that she is twittering like a


bird. Helmer is just asking if it is his wife, Nora, and if she


is saying something. When Torvald Helmer says, “Is it my little


squirrel bustling about?” He does not think that Nora is a


squirrel either. Nora has her share of verbal irony too. When


she is sitting down talking to Mrs. Linde she says, “There now,


it is burning up.” The place is not literally burning up. The


house is not on fire. Nora is just stating that the temperature


inside the house is hot. Nora then gets up and, “Shuts the door


of the stove and moves the rocking-chair aside.”


All three types of irony are used throughout A Doll s House to


create a further stirring play. Irony plays an important role in


any type of literature, and is used to help show the opposite of


what is actually said and/or done. Irony is the use of words to


express something other than, and especially the opposite, of


the literal meaning. Without irony, literature, especially plays


would be humdrum and minimal.

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