Irony
Pride and Prejudice
What is Irony?
Verbal Irony
Dramatic Irony
Situational Irony
Sarcasm
Examples from the Book
Verbal Irony
An example of verbal irony is when Mr. Darcy writes to his sister and Miss Bingley says to write how much she misses her. She really just wants to please Darcy’s sister, to get her to marry her brother. Another example is in the first page of the book where it states a wealthy single man is also in need of a wife, when truthfully, it is the woman that needs a wealthy man to survive in this Era.
Dramatic Irony
An example of dramatic irony is when Mr. Collins told Mrs. Bennet that he wants to marry one of the daughters. Mrs. Bennet says Elizabeth would be a good match, but Elizabeth didn’t know this. When Elizabeth starts to feel disapproval after reading Darcy's letter. When Darcy proposes to her, she lays out many accusations about how he treats her sister and Wickham, she concludes that he is a prideful and detestable man.
Situational Irony
An example of situational irony is when Jane stayed over the Bingley’s house and they were meant to get married, but Mr. Bingley moved on and left Jane. Another example is when Lady Catherine de Bourgh tells Elizabeth not to marry Darcy. She intends in this situation to ruin the relationship, but Elizabeth goes against Lady Catherine and marries Darcy.
Sarcasm
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”(Austen 5).This represents sarcasm because it is a man talking about how single men with money, must want a wife. If he was speaking naturally, men with money would not be in need of a spouse.