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Multiple Choice

Which type of irony involves the audience knowing more than a character?

Dramatic irony is the type of irony where the audience knows more than a character. This extra knowledge lets us anticipate how things will unfold and often heightens tension or creates a sense of fate at work, because we see the consequences the character cannot yet see. For example, a character may confidently reveal a plan, while the audience understands that plan will fail or lead to disaster. The other forms don’t fit as neatly: verbal irony is about saying the opposite of what one means, situational irony is when outcomes are opposite to what’s expected, and cosmic irony involves fate or the gods seeming to thwart human efforts. So, the best fit for “the audience knowing more than a character” is dramatic irony.

Dramatic irony is the type of irony where the audience knows more than a character. This extra knowledge lets us anticipate how things will unfold and often heightens tension or creates a sense of fate at work, because we see the consequences the character cannot yet see. For example, a character may confidently reveal a plan, while the audience understands that plan will fail or lead to disaster. The other forms don’t fit as neatly: verbal irony is about saying the opposite of what one means, situational irony is when outcomes are opposite to what’s expected, and cosmic irony involves fate or the gods seeming to thwart human efforts. So, the best fit for “the audience knowing more than a character” is dramatic irony.