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Situational Irony in Julius Caesar
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Added on 2019-09-30
Situational Irony in Julius Caesar
Added on 2019-09-30
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1Situational IronyIntroductionThe situational irony is the occurrence of an unexpected situation in the plot. The stories are often set up in a way where the readers can expect what to do. In such a situation something different might happen and it creates a twist. It is called situational irony. In the literature, three types of irony are used. The situational irony is one of them. The other two are dramatic and verbal. In all cases, a discrepancy between reality and appearance is used. The verbal irony indicates the discrepancy between reality and appearance in the words. In other words, verbal irony happens when someone says different than their intended meaning. Dramatic irony is thesituation where the discrepancy occurs between the knowledge of the readers and that of the characters. The situational irony, on the contrary, aims at creating a surprising effect for the audience. It makes the story more appealing as the readers often prefer unexpected occurrences. There are many instances of situational irony in the literature. Works of ShakespeareSituational Irony is one of the most widely used literary devices in the works of Shakespeare. In this section, the use of this type of irony in different works is analyzed.Romeo and Juliet: Romeo and Juliet is a play where this category of irony is used in several scenes. Scene 1 of Act 2 indicates the situational irony when Mercutio and Benvolio believed that Romeo loves Rosaline. So, they tried making Romeo respond to their call by referring to her. In reality, Romeo was in love with Juliet. So, the references to Rosaline have not impacted him anyway. It is used in the scene when Romeo expects to die as he believes Juliet is dead. However, Juliet was still alive although Romeo killed himself. It is one of the situations which indicate reflect situational irony.There is another situation which incorporates the situational irony is scene 2 of Act 5 when FriarLawrence expected to unite Romeo and Juliet. In this case, also, the letter of Lawrence was not delivered to Romeo. As an effect, the plan failed and both of them killed themselves.Othello: The evidence of situational irony are found in Othello also. Initial part of the play indicates that Cassiois might be dead. In the end, the reader reveals that Cassiois is alive and gets promoted. It is reflected in the conversation between Iago and Roderigo also. As evident from the plot, Roderigo is acting as per the scheme of Iago unknowingly. This is a dramatic twistin the plot and it is introduced using the situational irony. The activity of Emilia is another example of situational irony. Emilia is portrayed as the friend of Desdemona but she was found to plot against her. This is another remarkable twist in the plot.
Julius Caesar: Julius Caesar is another piece in which multiple dramatic moments are created using the irony. The activity of Brutus is creating irony at various points. Brutus considers that Caesar might abuse his power after being a king and would emerge as a tyrant. Brutus also believes that the activities of Caesar would cause a civil war. Based on the belief, he decided to assassin Caesar for saving Rome. The plot indicates that Brutus is comparing the future King to a snake egg. The egg itself is considered as harmless but after hatching, it becomes poisonous. Therefore, from the perspective of Brutus and his fellow conspirators, killing the king is the onlyoption to prevent the civil war. However, the actual scenario was different in the plot. After the death of Caesar, the civil war started. It was exactly opposite of the expectations of the conspirators and readers. The effect of assassinating Caesar was dramatic and twisted the plot. The dream of Caesar's wife and the activity of Decius is another example. On the day of the assassination, the wife tried to convince Caesar to stay at home because of her dream of stabbing the statue, laughing of people and washing their hands in blood. On the morning, Caesar himself was hesitant to leave the home due to the words of a psychic. Decius, on the contrary, was plotting the murder of Caesar. He convinced him that the dream is a sign of kinghood and the improvement of Rome. Decius also convinces Caesar that Senate is planning to crown him, although the senators can change their mind if he does not leave home. Due to the ambitious nature and faith in the friend, Caesar planned to attend the meeting. In the end, he was killed by his friends instead of being crowned. It is another dramatic twist in the plot. The handshake of Mark Antony with the murderers of Caesar is another instance of situational irony. After the murder, Antony found that the murderers are standing over Caesar's body. As afriend, Antony was expected to seek revenge. In reality, Antony was found doing handshakes with the murderers and befriending them. It was not expected by the readers. The activities of Antony also add a twist to the plot.Macbeth: In Macbeth, the situational irony was presented by the actions of Macbeth. He firstly killed Duncan for gaining power and the throne. At that time Macbeth considered that killing Duncan would make him happy. In the later part of the play, he realized that he needs to kill people to retain power. In the end, he started despising the people and his people also started despising him.Another example of irony is revealed in the actions of Lady Macbeth. Initially, she takes an active role in the murder of Duncan. At that time she has not shown any sign of guilt or hesitation. She was also found to criticizing Macbeth for his conscience and the weaknesses. She was portrayed as a cold character. However, in the end, Lady Macbeth was found overwhelmed with the guilt feeling. She also killed herself. The situational irony presents in the transformation of her character.Antony and Cleopatra: Antony and Cleopatra is another play where the irony is used effectively. The initial course of actions in the play indicated that Antony would leave his throne. Later when the actual time to give up the throne came, he became hesitant and it influenced the future actions.
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