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Use of irony as one of the dramatic devices
Many authors use irony as a way of questioning the reader or emphasizing a central idea
Essay on dramatic irony
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We handle fear in a multitude of different ways. Many people use angst to their advantage by becoming more careful and aware, while others become paralyzed and unable to function. Fear can be both beneficial and harmful, although it comes down to one’s personality to understand why people react in different ways to it. Fright can be extremely helpful because as humans, it’s usually our mission to survive, which could lead to the fabrication of a plan or a way to stand up to the root of the fear. Even though apprehension can be advantageous , it also can be harmful. Fear can induce paranoia and conceive an obsession that clouds judgement and controls emotions. Edgar Allen Poe shows the consequences and rewards, to which his characters in “The …show more content…
“The Masque of Red Death” portrays irony in a very cruel way, causing Prince Prospero to perish by the very element he secluded himself from. The Prince believes he’s safe, locked inside his castle, separated from the outside world, “All these and security were within; without was was the ‘Red Death’.” (57) The Prince isolates himself in his palace believing he can keep the Red Death out, but ironically the Red Death is already inside and kills everyone in the castle. Prince Prospero is extremely afraid of the Red Death and let’s his fear govern his decisions. These decisions lead him to his death, and everyone else’s in the palace. Related to “The Masque of Red Death”, “The “Tell-Tale Heart” has irony regarding fear of the outside evils of the world. The story reveals irony, not through the narrator, but with the old man. “..for the shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers..” (75) The old man had a natural fear of robbers, but so much so, that he closed his windows and locked them every night, believing the threat was outside. Ironically, the actual threat he should’ve been afraid of was alrwady inside his secluded home. The old man was afraid of evil and didn’t have a clue to how close its vicinity to him was. Similar to “The Masque of Red Death,” the old man’s paranoia and extra precaution did nothing for him when death fell, orchestrated by one in his household. The old man tried to keep evil out, but it was already
Fear is a powerful emotion. Wikipedia.com describes fear as “an emotion induced by threat perceived by living entities, which causes a change in brain and organ function and ultimately change behavior, such as running away, hiding or freezing from traumatic events.”Most people tend to avoid fearful situations, not realizing that something positive may come out of the event or experience. Victor Villaseñor focuses on the topic of fear in his novel titled Burro Genius. Villaseñor demonstrates to readers how growing up he was extremely fearful of any situation. Victor also tells his readers how he turned his fear into motivation into motivation to keep going and reach his ultimate goal of becoming a published author.
All people wish to avoid suffering, and those with wealth usually take too long to realize that they cannot avert it. In the short story, “The Masque of the Red Death”, Edgar Allan Poe tells the readers of death, and how the upper class deals with it. In this story, Prince Prospero and his wealthy friends hide away in a castle to evade death. This obviously does not work, as death is inevitable, but of course, they attempt to save themselves anyways. In “The Masque of the Red Death”, Poe uses the courtiers, Prince Prospero, and the stranger to symbolize the members of the influential upper class and their habit of using their power to postpone their own impending doom.
Fear is an everyday emotion that the human race must face, and it can bring out the best and worst of us, but its how we choose to deal with it that truly defines us.
Irony causes an interesting effect towards the reader causing them to expect the unexpected while conveying entertaining content. Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe is fully written with suspenseful and intriguing irony. The narrator could not have stated a better way to express his insanity than murdering the poor old man after self pro-claiming that he is sane. Edgar Allan Poe's technique to portray constant irony is substantially more effective than in any other short story because Poe created a “mad” man in Tell Tale Heart who considers himself “sane”, making the narrator himself ironic. Edgar Allan Poe presents verbal irony in an obvious way. During the story, the narrator attempts to prove to the readers that he is sane. Unfortunately,
Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, "The Telltale Heart" and "The Masque of the Red Death" are two very different stories. One is about a simple man, perhaps a servant, who narrates the tale of how he kills his wealthy benefactor, and the other is about a prince who turns his back on his country while a plague known as The Red Death ravages his lands. Yet, there are some similarities in both. Time, for instance, and the stroke of midnight, seem to always herald the approach of impending death. Both are killers, one by his own hand, the other by neglecting his country. One seeks peace, the other seeks pleasure, but both are motivated by the selfish need to rid themselves of that which haunts them, even at the expense of another's life. However, the point of this critique will show that their meticulous plans to beat that which torments them are undone by a single flaw in their character - overconfidence.
Through a lifespan, people will endure many stressful events and experiences. The severity of these events easily overwhelm them and as a result they will let their emotions overshadow sensible decisions. When in such an emotional state, it is common that people make impulsive decisions based off their feelings, but, this could lead to permanent consequences. Of the numerous emotions, fear predominantly is seen in times of crisis. Fear can be defined as, “An emotion of uneasiness that arises as a normal response to perceived threat that may be real or imagined” (Adamec). Fear may arise from a confrontation or from avoiding a threat, or it may come in the form of a discovery. Fear is often a direct result of one being scared due to a crisis
The irony in, “The Tell Tale Heart” is more obscure. The narrator is an insane and a man who has agitation, yet tries to persuade the reader that he is not just sane, but rather logical. He proves this by calmly explaining why the violent act happens, but only resulting in contrary to what is being influence to the readers. One of the act that takes place, was “every night, about midnight, [the narrator] turns the latch of [the old man’s] door and opened it ....It took [him] an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that [he] could see [the old man] as he lay upon his bed”. (1) It is abnormal enough for someone to speak repetitively, the narrator broke this boundary, in putting his somewhat mad plan into action. Another ironic moment was the need to confess his murder at the end of the story, due to guilt that is feeding on him alive. Though he is free of the judgmental eye, he is to be imprison for his
Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, literary critic, and editor. Despite of his many talents, Edgar Allan Poe is best acknowledge for his poems and short stories, primarily his tales consist of mystery and deception of death. For instance, in the story “The Masque of the Red Death”, the story involves a plague that is killing the people, in which the Prince and his closest friend want to avoid. In the story “The Cask of Amontillado” is about a perfect murder planed out for revenge, in which he succeeds. In the story “The Tell-tale heart” involves the murder of an old man, in which the killer’s heart makes him say the truth. Many of Edgar Allan Poe stories use irony, by expressing a meaning that is contrary of what is expected throughout the
Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories, “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Masque of the Red Death” are two very different stories that share similar literary elements. The Tell-Tale Heart is about a man who killed this old man because of his “evil looking eye” and “The Masque of the Red Death” is about a prince who hides from a disease that is devastating his kingdom. However, these stories are very similar and are easily comparable. For example, they both let other people die for their own personal needs. Edgar Allan Poe’s gothic style of short stories, “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Masque of the Red Death” are two stories with insane protagonists that are motivated by the setting and their selfishness and both of these stories share the same tone
Edgar Allan Poe shows us through his stories, how fear can be harmful, but also helpful to a person. Fear can be harmful to a person since it causes paranoia, clouding rational thinking, and maybe even causing it to lead up to the point where all you can think about is your fear, causing you to do things that can harm yourself or others. Though fear is seen primarily as something bad, it can definitely help you out in many cases. Fear helps you because it restrains you from doing something that can get you into trouble since you become to scared to do it. Fear also keeps you alert, and helps you survive in dangerous situations. All the main characters in Poe’s stories, such as the narrators from “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Pit and the Pendulum”
Human's fears should not be taken lightly. Fear could do anything to one's minds, though without fear, man can be as savage as animals. In the book Lord of the Flies, William Golding presented fear of the unknown to be a powerful force in a man's mind. Fear of the unknown is a powerful force, which can turn to either insight or hysteria. The kids feared of not being rescued off of the island, so they made signal fires on top of the mountain. Then, there and gone, Roger's fear of the old rules he abided to. Also, there were the fears of the beast which confused and isolated the kids from the top of the mountain.
“There is nothing to fear but fear itself” (Roosevelt). “Fear is a chain reaction in the brain that starts with a stressful stimulus and ends with the release of chemicals that cause a racing heart, fast breathing and energized muscles, among other things, also known as the fight-or-flight response” (Layton). Fear affects the brain and can help people or make them in a worse situation than they were in the first place. Fear most motivates/influences people during times of crisis by clouding judgement and becoming a weapon of power.
Fear has controlled the world and shaped humans into what they are now. New technologies have been created, because of the fear humans have. Over time new fears have evolved, and illnesses occurred due to anxiety and depression from these fears. The terror that runs through each individual is different. Without fear there would be no evolution or protection.
To begin with, Poe uses irony is a majority of his writing publications because to portray his dark humor, and entertain the audience in a somewhat sick and twisted manner. To demonstrate, the narrator kills another innocent man malevolently, and disposes the remains inhumanely, “If still, you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body” (“The Tell-Tale Heart”). The statement the narrator makes to name himself sane provides fright, for his declaration ironically further advances his insanity. This reassurance is lightly put in a sophisticated manner, and his recall on himself as another person consequently creates a dark atmosphere. Additionally, prior to assassinating
The short story Tell-Tale Heart has much suspense, most of it being dramatic irony situations. Three examples of irony in this story, first, the old man has no idea that the narrator harbors such a feeling towards his vulture eye the narrator describes a "cold feeling" every time the narrator looks at him with his eye. Secondly, the narrator plots on the old man for eight nights and the old man still has no idea of his soon to be fate. Finally, when the police arrive, they are unaware that the old man is buried beneath the floor while